“RuPaul's Drag Race” winner Raja says airport bar staff member 'accosted' her, accused her of theft
RuPaul's Drag Race season 3 winner and All Stars 7 queen Raja has accused an airport bar staff member of publicly humiliating her over what she said was a false accusation over a stolen wine glass.
The Drag Race icon shared — and later deleted — an Instagram post Monday detailing an incident allegedly involving the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport's Four Peaks Brewing bar, claiming that a staff member tailed her over suspected theft.
"I dont think it's cool to be treated poorly while traveling. Yo, I got a burger and wine for almost $60 including a tip for this a--hole ,and this dude followed me to my gate accusing me of stealing a wine glass. What the actual FUK?" Raja wrote in the caption of her since-deleted post, additionally tagging the location and calling it "a joke."
Raja's post showed a screenshot of a Google review she wrote for the bar, in which she doubled down on the claims about the bartender accusing her of stealing a wine glass.
"The dude actually went to my gate and humiliated me in front of people asking for a glass!" Raja wrote. "I am on route to LA and stopped in this restaurant for food and some wine and instead accosted."
Four Peaks Brewing did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Later on Monday, Raja shared another Instagram post explaining that she'd reconciled with the establishment.
"Decided to delete my rant about post about the Phoenix airport restaurant. They've apologized and are now aware that perhaps they should check their employees," Raja wrote. "Have a nice day everyone."
A representative for Raja told EW that she did not have additional comment on the matter, and referred us to her latest Instagram post.
After establishing herself as both a nightlife entertainer and TV personality (she was an on-camera makeup artist on America's Next Top Model) in Los Angeles, Raja became a Drag Race staple after winning the show's third season in May 2011.
Paramount+/World of Wonder Raja on 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7'
Nearly 11 years after her Drag Race victory, Raja joined the Emmy-winning series' first all-winners edition in 2022. Though she didn't win the overall season, she did score the inaugural title of Queen of She Done Already Done Had Herses, a secondary $50,000 prize that was up for grabs among cast members who didn't make it to the AS7 finals.
"This is the last time I'm ever going to be on RuPaul's Drag Race ever in my life, so I'm just focused on the positive," Raja told EW's Quick Drag podcast about whether or not she'd ever appear on the show as a contestant in the future. "Right now at this point I'm saying it's a declaration. It's such a hard thing to do and I live a life of leisure and I hate being inconvenienced. It's so hard to do Drag Race. It's stressful, but I can't see myself doing that ever again right now. I'm saying that today. You never know, I might get a call from Randy [Barbato] and Fenton [Bailey] of World and Wonder like, 'We're going to do another one!' You never know, I might change my mind, but today I'd say it's not a possibility."
Read Raja's post about her Four Peaks Brewing incident above.
Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions from the cast, special guests, and more.
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