A Guest Blogger by TamaraTattles.com Ru Paul Drag Race Expert, Lady Cocotte

RuPaul’s Drag Race’s much embattled season 2 winner Tyra Sanchez will soon be headed back to court. According to TMZ, Tyra is being sued for child support for her 9-year-old son, Jeremiah. TMZ’s sensationalized headline even calls her out for being a deadbeat dad. “According to our sources, Sanchez is currently paying zero support and has no custody of Jeremiah. We’re told he only sees his son roughly once a month.” Jeremiah was a major storyline in Tyra’s season of RPDR and provided rare glimpses of the ice queen’s softer side. In season 2, Tyra Sanchez was a lightening rod for controversy and she often went out her way to antagonize her fellow cast mates. The only things she really cared about were Beyonce and her son, Jeremiah. Since Drag Queens are predominately gay men, it’s rare to find young Queens with biological children. Tyra didn’t go into detail about her relationship with Jeremiah’s mother but she did touch upon the time in her life when she tried to be straight and live the life her family expected from her. I don’t think anyone who watched season 2 could deny her love for her boy.

This is not the first time Tyra Sanchez has faced the judicial system. In 2011, Tyra was arrested in Georgia for a small amount of marijuana (because, Georgia). She was released the next day on a $1,300 bond. Things got dicier for the RPDR star in 2014 when she was arrested for assault at a night club in Virginia Beach. Reports about what happened that night vary. Some sources claim that Tyra was signing autographs when she got into an argument with a heckler. Others assert that she was a customer at the club (not there in any official capacity) and club security had to remove her from the premises when she got in an altercation with another patron. Tyra went to the police station to file charges against the venue for injuries resulting from the fracas. Unfortunately, the club had already pressed charges against her for assault so she was booked and released. She eventually went before a judge and the charges against her were dismissed by the court.





Through all of this, Tyra’s relationship with Jeremiah’s mother seemed peaceable. She allowed Jeremiah to appear in a music video for the song “Hey Jane” where Tyra played a trans prostitute and mother (it’s quite beautiful and worth watching). More recently, Tyra has been involved in a documentary about her relationship with Jeremiah called Drag Dad. I had the opportunity to watch part of the film in a packed auditorium. It was a very emotional experience. Not only was it beautiful to see the love Tyra and Jeremiah share but it also let us see beyond the guarded facade Tyra presented in her season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She gained a lot of fans that night. I hope they are able to raise the funds needed to complete the film. It’s a story that needs to be told

On the 2014 Drag Stars at Seas: Mayan Adventure cruise, Phi Phi O’Hara gave an amazing performance where she portrayed (and made fun of) various RPDR cast members. She included a segment about Tyra Sanchez, mocking her arrest for pot by performing “Bad Boys” and “Because I Got High” by Afroman. It was hysterical and the whole room erupted in laughter. I knew Tyra was sitting a few rows behind me and I couldn’t resist looking back. She slunk down in her seat and tried to hide her face. As soon as the performance was over she ran out of the auditorium with a hoodie covering her face. Shortly after, I saw her in the food line just ahead of me. You could tell that her emotions were raw and she was trying to be brave. Everyone in line acted like we hadn’t just seen her humiliation and we watched her slowly regain her composure. I think I explained how to use the ice cream machine to her (oh, the banalities of shipboard life). There was some kind of fragility about her that made me want to protect her. It’s not what I expected after watching her season. I later got my picture taken with her and I think she remembered my kindness (you can see it in her smile). Unfortunately, the woman who took my picture caught me mid-sentence and I ended up with a picture of Tyra Sanchez and my numerous chins (enjoy) Hopefully Tyra and Jeremiah’s mother will be able to work out their child support issue. I’m not sure what changed in their relationship that led to this filing but it’s in Jeremiah’s best interest that his parents get along. Being an artist, even a RPDR winner, doesn’t really pay enough to support a luxurious lifestyle but Jeremiah deserves to have his needs met. Tyra already gives him the best thing any parent can give: her love. Now she needs to work out the financial support. And big props go out to Jeremiah’s mother for raising a wonderful young man on her own. She must be a strong woman.

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