RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 star Robbie Turner is taking a hiatus from social media, and has apologised to fans and supporters after admitting that a story she told about a fatal drunk driving incident in an Uber was not actually true.
This extremely wild and weird tale kicked off in mid-April, when Turner took to Twitter to say that she had woken up after a car accident, and that her Uber had been struck by a drunk driver on the way home the night before, injuring he and killing the driver.
After an initial flood of sympathy, some began to question details of the story – The Stranger contacted police in Seattle and found that there was no record of such an accident occurring, and Uber also had no reports of a driver being killed in those circumstances.
As the story unravelled further, Robbie Turner faced pressure from fans and fellow Drag Race queens to explain what had really happened, and yesterday, Entertainment Weekly ran an exclusive interview in which she admitted the crash did not happen.
Turner told the publication that, on waking up at home with bruises and a headache, she suspected she had a concussion, and did some “poking around and sleuthing”, which led to the conclusion that a fatal car accident had taken place.
She went on to say that she now believes someone “slipped something” in her drink, after which she went home, slipped and hit her head in the shower, then “got out of makeup, went to bed and had a very vivid and ridiculous dream.”
Overnight, following the EW story, Robbie Turner took to Instagram to set the record straight and announce that she’ll be taking a work and social media hiatus:
Much public attention followed my recent posts on social media. These were posts I regret sharing.
I don’t remember much of that night, including leaving my place of employment. I do recall waking up bruised, disoriented, sore, and with an extremely vivid recollection of events that had, to my mind, absolutely occurred. It is clear to me that they did not, in fact, happen.
The past few months have been very stressful for my family and I. The stress, depression, heartache and confusion during this time have overwhelmed me. On the advice of physicians and caring mental health professionals, I am taking a break from work and social media to spend more time with family and practice some important self-care.
In addition, I apologize to Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, for naming a company I respect in such a negative public way. That’s not who I am, but it’s what I did, and I am sorry for it. I also extend my apologies to Queer Bar, as well as anyone who may have felt that my original post lacked sensitivity. For that I am also regretful.
I appreciate the continued support of my fans and respect for my privacy during this time. I hope to take better care of myself, learn from this painful season and nourish what brought me joy about my art to begin with.
Get well soon, Robbie.
