Former Glee star comes out as trans and reveals name
A former Glee actor and singer has come out as trans, revealing his name as Jake Zyrus.
Zyrus began work on the musical hit in its second season, starring in the role of Sunshine Corazon, a foreign exchange student.
Glee was praised for its gay storylines, at a time when LGBT representation on TV was rarer than it is today.
In 2013 the Glee star, known then as Charice Pempengco, came out as a lesbian.
A year later during an interview with TV personality, Oprah Winfrey, Zyrus revealed his “soul” was male.
The interview with Oprah took place on a ‘where are they now’ special where she catches up with celebrities that were once in the public eye.
“I knew when I was five,” he told Oprah.
“I was in grade school and I saw this girl and I felt different… I didn’t know what it was, but I just knew at that time, it felt special.
“I’m not exactly transitioning to a male, but basically my soul is male. I’m not going to change my body, ill cut my hair and wear boys clothes, but that all.”
Since the star revealed the next stage in his journey and his new name, he has taken to social media to thank all his fans for their support.
“My first tweet as Jake. Overwhelmed. Saw all your love comments and I’m so happy. Finally. I love you, everyone and see you soon,” Zyrus said.
“I won’t let anyone ruin this moment. I won’t let anyone ruin my happiness. Thank you to all the beautiful write ups about me.”
The star also took to Instagram posting an image reading, “Thank you.”
The Instagram post was captioned, “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love and respect. I love you back and I’m sending peace to everyone.”
Since announcing the news Zyrus has received lots of support from fans on Twitter.
One person tweeted “@jakezyrus I love you JAKE. fully support all the way love from Singapore. Be strong stay happy and pray always.”
Another tweet read, “Life is short, do the things that makes you happy. Jake or Charice we’re always gonna be here for you.”
Zyrus has had a successful career and has appeared in a number of TV shows and films including The X-Factor Philippines in 2012 as a judge
Glee ended in 2015 and had aired a total of six seasons and had a number of LGBT storylines.
The show also featured a 200 member transgender choir as part of a storyline centring around a transition of a character.
Here’s Jake on Glee:
