Tyra Sanchez
| Tyra Sanchez | |
|---|---|
| Born |
James William Ross IV April 22, 1988 Gainesville, Florida, U.S. |
| Residence | Orlando, Florida U.S. |
| Other names | James Ross |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Known for | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 2) Winner |
| Predecessor | BeBe Zahara Benet |
| Successor | Raja |
| Children | 1 |
James Ross IV, better known by his stage name Tyra Sanchez, is an American drag queen and reality television personality. A frequent drag impersonator of pop star Beyoncé, Ross is best known as the Winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[1]
Career
A native of Gainesville, Florida, Ross moved to Orlando, where he resided for most of his life. His drag mother was Angelica Sanchez Jones, a popular performer in the Orlando area. During his time on RuPaul's Drag Race, Ross spoke candidly about his periods of homelessness and personal challenges prior to auditioning for and being selected to appear on the show. Ross' old-school drag style and glamor made him a favorite of the judges. Currently residing in Orlando, Ross performs throughout the United States and Canada.
At the time he won the title, Ross was one of the youngest contestants to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race; he was also one of the few contestants on the show who never had to lip sync in order to avoid elimination prior to the season finale. After winning Drag Race, Ross served as a drag professor and mentor of beauty- and fashion-challenged women on the second season of RuPaul's Drag U.[2] In April 2011, Sanchez released his first dance single, "Look At Me Now."
Personal life
Ross is single and has one son whom he co-parents with the child's mother.
On August 10, 2015 Ross sent a tweet to a fan of the show who called him annoying and tweeted gun emojis, telling the fan, "kill yourself," which was met with backlash and outrage across Twitter and Facebook. He later stated that he would not apologize for his opinion, and went on to call victims of suicide "selfish cowards."[3] A petition[4] was made calling for RuPaul to revoke Ross' crown and title, or at least speak out against it. RuPaul broke silence in his podcast,[5] defending Ross' attitude, and stated: "Twitter is not the place for that. People don't get nuance on Twitter, you can't do irony on Twitter, people won't get it." During the podcast she added: "On Twitter, you don't hear inflection, you don't hear snark, you don't hear sarcasm." To further corroborate his stance on the matter he appealed to the audiences to take Sanchez's comments in jest.
References
- ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2". Logo. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
- ↑ Guest Judges Announced for RuPaul's Drag U from New York Press 9 March 2011
- ↑ '"Drag Race winner under fire for comments on suicide"'
- ↑ 'Activists create petition against Sanchez'
- ↑ "RuPaul breaks silence on Drag Race winner Tyra telling fan 'Go kill yourself' - Gay Star News". Gay Star News. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
External links
| Preceded by BeBe Zahara Benet |
RuPaul's Drag Race winner Season 2 (2010) |
Succeeded by Raja |