Influencer Nikita Dragun has been largely absent from the internet since her Nov. 2022 arrest at a Miami Beach, Florida hotel. About a year earlier, Dragun was also involuntarily admitted to a Virginia mental hospital. Since then, Dragun has opened up about her mental health and bipolar disorder diagnosis, and has just recently started posting again on social media.
In Nov. 2022, police responded to a disorderly conduct call at The Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Dragun was naked by the pool, and threw water when hotel security staff approached her. When the police arrived, Dragun had returned to her room. Police and hotel security staff knocked on her door, and when she answered, they told her she needed to leave the premises. Dragun then closed the door, reopened it, and swung a water bottle at the security staff and the officers. No one was injured, but Dragun was arrested on felony assault, misdemeanor battery, and disorderly conduct charges, NBC News reported.
About a year before the Miami incident, Dragun shared on social media that she was involuntarily admitted to a Virginia mental hospital. She spent eight days there before she was released.
Dragun was held at a Miami men’s facility
Once Dragun, who is transgender, was arrested in Florida, she was reportedly held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, a men’s facility, and then released on bond. A Dragun representative told TMZ, ” … Nikita, who is legally female, being placed in a men’s unit of a Florida jail is extremely disturbing and dangerous. This decision made by the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department directly violates their protocol, which mandates that transgender inmates are classified and housed based on safety needs and gender identity.”
Miami-Dade Corrections responded, “Inmate Dragun never made it beyond the booking process prior to release; therefore, she was never placed in a men’s unit. All inmates undergoing our intake process remain in an open seating (open booking) area, in the presence of correctional staff. Additionally, inmate Dragun was placed in a holding cell by herself due to her high profile status before being released, and she was escorted by an LGBTQ officer during her time at the corrections facility.”
Nikita Dragun took time off to address her mental health
In the aftermath of the Florida arrest, Jack Ketsoyan, a Dragun representative told TMZ, “She is in a safe environment addressing her mental health. We ask for continued respect for her privacy and the sensitivity of this matter as she seeks treatment and healing.” Little was heard from Dragun until she reemerged to restart her career. Since then, Dragun has started posting again on social media. In February 2024 Dragun shared an update, which read in part,
” … [I]t took my world crashing to pieces to find my true self again. this passed year i have lived my life in solitude attempting to find my inner peace… trying to find me again. life is not without pain, struggles, and hardships. but if you really look inside yourself, you will always find the strength to get through [sic].”
via Nikita Dragun/Instagram
Before her legal problems, Dragun faced “blackfishing” allegations, or intentionally darkening her skin to appear Black, and for holding parties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions follow Dragun online, and she founded Dragun Beauty, a cosmetic line for transgender people. Among other TV appearances, she also had two seasons of a Snapchat reality series called Nikita Unfiltered, and starred in Hype House, a reality show featuring influencers.