Tony Hyunsoo Ha, who competed as Soju on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11, has decided to quit drag after dealing with several sexual assault accusations shared by multiple people. After hosting a YouTube series called Shot With Soju for a few years, Tony finally landed a spot on Drag Race season 11 with the drag persona of Soju. As a contestant, Soju’s goal was to bring a Korean Pop aesthetic to the drag artform. Alas, Soju was the first queen to be eliminated in the season.
In January 2021, multiple people accused Tony, the man behind Drag Race season 11’s Soju, of sexually harassing them. At the time, Tony told Out that those claims had come from people who had threatened and attempted to extort him, and that he would seek out a legal representative to defend himself. But Tony still made Soju’s Instagram private and went on an indefinite social media hiatus. After many weeks of complete silence on this matter, Tony is now updating the world on what’s been happening.
On Tuesday, March 9, Tony Hyunsoo Ha shared a statement with RuPaul’s Drag Race fans via Soju’s Instagram Story. He wrote, “Just quick update to the people that are concerned about me, I have been diagnosed and am getting professional help. Please don’t worry. [To be honest, I don’t know] if I’m doing the right thing, but for my mental health I won’t be returning as Soju.” He ended the statement thanking people for sending him messages that “have saved [him] from many dark nights.” As such, Tony appears to be seeing a mental health professional and, in the process, has decided to retire the drag persona of Soju.
Tony’s approach to this situation feels like a departure from the Sherry Pie situation that took place around RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12. Sherry never committed to abandoning that drag character, and recent reports indicate that there have been a few attempts at a comeback. And yet, Tony’s actions and behavior in the past have hurt many people along the way.
The LGBTQIA+ community is standing firmly with the people who were impacted by the actions of these individuals. Hopefully, these situations involving Drag Race queens will happen less often over time.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 airs Fridays at 8pm EST on VH1.
Sources: Out Magazine