Canada’s Drag Race star Ilona Verley said they were punched by a bouncer while attending an LGBTQ+ nightclub.
On 21 April, the 27-year-old attended the Paparazzi Nightclub in Victoria, British Columbia.
At the start of the evening, the Drag Race star posted videos of themselves enjoying their time at the venue.
However, later in the evening, Ilona told their followers that they had been assaulted by the aforementioned staff member.
“I was just attacked by the bouncer at Paparazzi Nightclub Victoria,” they said.
“The manager laughed in my face and told me that transphobia isn’t real because I’m a b***h… this sh*t is not ok. Being told I’m a b***h for standing my ground and knowing my rights is getting old.”
Alongside their Instagram posts, Ilona opened up about the incident in a now-deleted tweet.
“I can’t believe I got punched in my cheek filler the first night I debuted my new face. Transphobia is alive and well here in Victoria at Paparazzi Nightclub,” they tweeted.
The following day, Ilona thanked fans for their support and kind words in an additional social media post.
“Thank you to those that reached out after my tweets from last night. I’ve taken them down as I honestly don’t want to foster more negativity and am working on handling lived life experiences in life and not online,” they wrote.
In the moment traumatizing situations can feel all consuming but I’m making the choice to not let last night get in the way of the rest of my time here in Victoria!
— Ilona Verley (@IlonaVerley) April 22, 2022
“In the moment traumatizing situations can feel all consuming but I’m making the choice to not let last night get in the way of the rest of my time here in Victoria!”
The Paparazzi Nightclub has yet to make a statement regarding Ilona’s social media comments.
The recent incident isn’t the first time the beloved drag queen opened up about the pushback they faced as a non-binary and transgender person.
Back in September 2021, Ilona revealed that they were censored while on the first season of Canada’s Drag Race.
“Oh ya they also instructed me not to discuss my trans identity on the show and even after they instructed me not to discuss the trans agenda because they were saving that storyline for the American franchise,” they tweeted.
When a fan questioned this because of prior queens on the US series discussing their own trans identities, Ilona explained that their season was filmed in 2019 – before Gottmik’s appearance on season 13 and Kylie Sonique Love’s victory on All-Stars 6.
Oh ya they also instructed me not to discuss my trans identity on the show and even after they instructed me not to discuss the trans agenda because they were saving that story line for the American franchise 🙄
— Ilona Verley (@IlonaVerley) September 3, 2021
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