Canada’s Drag Race star Boa shared her truth about surviving a brutal sexual assault to ‘be a voice for people’
Boa opened up about surviving assault on Canada’s Drag Race. (BBC)
Canada’s Drag Race star Boa was eliminated after an emotional episode which saw her revisit a brutal sexual assault. Warning – contains descriptions of violence.
There was an emotional moment in the Canada’s Drag Race werk room this week as Boa opened up to her fellow queens about a date which ended in sexual assault and robbery.
In 2015 the Toronto queen met a man while performing. After hitting it off she invited him to come home with her, where he began making sexual advances.
When Boa resisted, her date became violent, beating her up and stealing her wallet and laptop.
Jimbo comforted Boa as she revisited her past trauma in the werk room. (BBC)
“He didn’t just beat me up, he beat the s**t out of me,” she said. “My face was f**ked, I had a broke nose, it was a sexual assault.”
After robbing her and beating her unconscious, Boa’s attacker left her in a pool of her own blood. She believes that she “could have died” that night.
“There’s violence in the queer community and this needs to stop,” she said.
Boa wants other survivors to know ‘it is not their fault’.
Boa was vocal about her story at the time, but explained that she decided to revisit it on Drag Race to raise awareness.
“I hope that I can be a voice for people who may have experienced the same thing or are currently experiencing the same thing,” she said following her elimination.
“I want people to know that it is not their fault and it can happen to anybody.”
Unsurprisingly, Boa says that her “greatest strength” as a drag queen is her “ability to turn something dark into something lighthearted, funny, and hopefully joyful”.
That being said, she confessed to having struggled to see the positive when it came to the coronavirus pandemic, which has locked her away at home during what should be her big introduction to the world.
Our opportunities were ripped from us.
“It sucks, period,” she said.
“When the pandemic started to happen, our opportunities were ripped from us.
“Speaking for myself, I felt hopeless, robbed, and almost betrayed by the world. This was supposed to be my big break and I was absolutely gutted.
“That being said, we’ve been taking the right steps to flatten the curve. I have been able to watch with family and friends and even some fans at socially distance viewing parties, which I am more than grateful for.”
