CW: This article mentions suicidality and substance use.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Brita Filter recently opened up about how online harassment led to a near-fatal overdose.
The performer recently appeared on the Sean L. Show to talk about how cyberbullying affected her mental health, ultimately leading to harmful binge drinking and a suicide attempt. “I would go onto social media and there would be hundreds and hundreds of messages every single day,” she told host Sean Lyons. “It got too much to bear. “
“When someone starts to tell you you should kill yourself or how horrible of a person you are, you can try to brush it off,” she added, “but it starts to get to you after a certain time.”
The drag performer, who appeared in the 12th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, said the harassment began due to her turbulent relationship with fellow contestant Aiden Zhane. On one occasion, the star alleged a man threatened to push her in front of a moving train if he ever saw her on the subway platform.
Filter said the harassment continued to escalate after Drag Race began airing in new countries, further escalating to the star’s suicidal ideation.
“I tried to hurt myself,” she said. “I woke up on the floor in my room after doing an entire 8 ball of cocaine and drinking an entire bottle of Tito’s and taking every drug I had. I threw up and I was passed out on my floor the next day. And I knew that I had to do something ‘cause I was going to hurt myself. And so I had to take a step back.”
The star has since deactivated all of her social media accounts, except for Instagram, and is spending time with her family in Hawaii, noting that she is happy and healthy.
“I’m grateful that I have this platform where I can make a difference and I can make a change and I can also be that hope for other people,” she said.
Filter is not the first Drag Race star to open up about experiencing abuse from toxic fans. Last month other queens from the show, including Heidi N Closet, Mayhem Miller, Widow Von’Du, Mariah Paris Balenciaga, Latrice Royale, and The Vixen, were featured in a moving PSA in which they shared their own stories of online harassment and bullying.
Von’Du left Twitter last month, citing vitriol she received from fans of the show. “You did it! You ran another person of color away from what they love,” the star shared in a tweet. “I try to be strong but y’all done made me feel like I should hate myself and guess what you won.”
Filter, who is helping to spearhead the voter engagement initiative Drag Out the Vote, is currently slated to star in a Halloween variety special from World of Wonder titled Bring Back My Ghouls. The special will include lip-sync performances and a special message from RuPaul.
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