James William Ross IV, formerly known by his stage nameTyra Sanchez, is an American retired drag queen and reality television personality. A frequent drag impersonator of pop star Beyoncé, Ross is best known as the winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race where he won $25,000. As of March 2020, Ross has retired from drag, and will no longer be performing as his drag character Tyra Sanchez after making a public post on Instagram.
Career
A native of Gainesville, Florida, Ross moved to Orlando, where he has resided for most of his life. His drag mother was Angelica Sanchez Jones, a popular performer in the Orlando area. During his time on RuPaul's Drag Race, Ross spoke candidly about his periods of homelessness and personal challenges prior to auditioning for and being selected to appear on the show. Ross' old-school drag style and glamor made him a favorite of the judges. Currently residing in Orlando, Ross performed throughout the United States and Canada. At the time he won the title, Ross was one of the youngest contestants to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race. Throughout her time on the show, she was referred to by RuPaul as "the other Tyra" in order to not cause confusion with America's Next Top Model host Tyra Banks. She was also the first ever winner in the show's history to never be in the bottom two, a feat that has been repeated by winners Bianca Del Rio, Violet Chachki, Sasha Velour, and Aquaria. After winning Drag Race, Ross served as a drag professor and mentor of beauty- and fashion-challenged women on the second season of RuPaul's Drag U. In April 2011, Sanchez released his first dance single, "Look at Me". He released a second single, "Vogue" on October 13, 2016. He then released a spoken word EP, Dear Drag Race Fans Book I, on July 11, 2017, following the controversy surrounding him and Morgan McMichaels. In March 2020, Ross publicly stated he was retiring from drag.
On August 10, 2016, after a fan of the show called him annoying in a tweet followed by gun emojis, Ross replied with the message "Girl kill yourself". This was met with backlash and outrage across Twitter and Facebook. He later stated that he would not apologize for his opinion, and went on to call victims of suicide "selfish cowards." A petition was made calling for RuPaul to revoke Ross' crown and title, or at least speak out against it. RuPaul broke silence in his podcast, defending Ross' attitude, and stated: "Twitter is not the place for that. People don't get nuance on Twitter, you can't do irony on Twitter, people won't get it." During the podcast she added: "On Twitter, you don't hear inflection, you don't hear snark, you don't hear sarcasm."
Morgan McMichaels controversy
In 2017, Sanchez posted a mock obituary for Morgan McMichaels and used the post to direct people to Sanchez's personal SoundCloud page. McMichaels quickly denounced the post. McMichaels later said the post was meant as retribution for her blocking Sanchez's booking at Mickey's nightclub in West Hollywood. After Sanchez made comments about drag queen Raven, McMichaels said she wouldn't perform with Sanchez, and Sanchez lost the booking. Sanchez later apologized for the post about McMichaels.
RuPaul’s DragCon L.A. 2018 controversy
Tyra was announced as being banned from attending the 2018 RuPaul's DragCon L.A. event after being accused of making terrorist threats. His official website had a timer with the acronym "B.O.O.M." on it; however, no act of violence was made when the timer ended.
Retirement from Drag
On October 8, 2019, after a period of inactivity, Ross released an apology statement on his social media accounts, taking responsibility for his past actions. “I humbly apologize for the online behavior I have displayed in recent years,” he stated. “Though it represents emotions I may have felt, it does not represent my true character. I have failed you and I know that I am much better than that…. it’s not who I am and it is not who I choose to be.” In explaining the reason behind his behavior, he said that “The judgement, criticism, and opinions I received daily really affected my vibes and it began to control my environment... I was on an extreme roller coaster of emotions. So many ups and too many downs. Exhausted, I was just ready to get off the ride.” Just over five months later, Ross publicly announced his decision to quit drag, stating on his official Instagram page, "For those asking, Tyra Sanchez has fulfilled her purpose in my life. I, James Ross, no longer want to be referred to as Tyra, Tyra Sanchez, her, she, girl, or queen."
