Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Although Puerto Vallarta readily embraces the economic benefits of LGBTQ tourism, its conservative undercurrents have repeatedly drawn allegations of discrimination and abuse by local authorities and businesses. Easter Sunday was no different for Canada’s Drag Race season‑four champion Venus, who says she was abducted, beaten and robbed by municipal police officers in Puerto Vallarta during the early‑morning hours of Sunday, April 20. In a series of Instagram Stories posted later that day, the performer shared photographs of bruises across her arms, chest and abdomen and described an ordeal that she says lasted more than five hours.
According to Venus, uniformed officers stopped the taxi she was riding, forced her into the back of a hatchback‑style patrol truck, handcuffed her and “choked and kicked [her] for an hour.” She further alleged that the officers stole US $1,000 in cash and her headphones and then demanded several hundred additional dollars before releasing her. “I was choked and kicked for an hour and then they took $1,000 cash … I had to pay them hundreds more to get released and I can’t even call the police because they’re the ones who did this,” she wrote.
The 29‑year‑old performer said the attack appeared to stem from a dispute over taxi fare. “Front desk won’t help me because they think I’m guilty of not paying for my taxi,” she added, calling the episode “corruption on every level.”
Venus also posted an image of a dimly lit roadside where she says officers “left me here bleeding on the side of a dark road … while they all laughed at me.” In another message she wrote, “I’m still in shock … I’m just lucky to be alive.”
In a follow‑up Story, Venus thanked “the amazing queer community here in Puerto Vallarta” as well as staff at the LGBT‑friendly Almar Resort, who she said “came to [her] aid immediately.” She added that she is now “safe … with loved ones,” and is “working with the respective authorities to come to some sort of resolve.”
Entertainment Weekly reports that inquiries have been sent to the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office, the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board and Canada’s Consular Agency in Puerto Vallarta, but none had responded by press time. PVDN also sought comment from Puerto Vallarta’s municipal public‑security directorate; a spokesperson said the department is “reviewing the allegations” but would not provide further details.
The incident is the latest in a string of reported attacks on RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni, including assaults on U.K. winner The Vivienne and Dutch winner Envy Peru in 2023, underscoring persistent risks faced by LGBTQ+ entertainers worldwide.
