Drag Race star Jasmine Kennedie bravely comes out as trans: ‘I couldn’t be happier’
Drag Race star Jasmine Kennedie bravely comes out as trans (Jasmine Kennedie/Twitter)
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Jasmine Kennedie has received a swell of support from fans after coming out as trans on Friday’s episode of Untucked.
Kennedie, 22, credited fellow trans queen Kerri Colby for helping her to “affirm” her gender identity on the show.
Holding Colby’s hand while opening up, Kennedie said: “Seeing Kerri, seeing how confident she is in who she is, it just further affirms what I’ve been feeling my whole life.
“I definitely do feel that I am trans, and I’ve been so scared to say it. I have held back from it for so long because I didn’t want to hurt my dad. But, I can’t lie about it anymore: I am trans.”
In a statement on Twitter, she said: “Thank u Kerri Colby for making me feel comfortable to talk about my identity. If it wasn’t for you, I probably would have never came out.”
Jasmine Kennedie also explained: “I am now at a place in my life where I feel confident enough to finally start living my truth and stop worry [sic] about what others think.
“I started my HRT (hormone replacement therapy) a couple of months after coming back from Drag Race and I couldn’t be more happier.”
❤️🏳️⚧️❤️ pic.twitter.com/N57yvoXmP5
— Jasmine(Mouth Almighty)Kennedie (@jasminekennedie) February 19, 2022
Fans rushed to support Jasmine Kennedie after she came out on Twitter, with one Drag Race fan saying: “You deserve to live your life as your true, authentic self.”
Congratulations, you deserve to live your life as your true, authentic self. You look so beautiful in that picture. Wishing you every happiness 🏳️⚧️— Vanjie Cookie Monster Matteo (@sabinathefox) February 19, 2022
Another Twitter user said Kennedie will help others to come out “because you had the courage to do so now”.
I am so proud of you. It takes courage to be authentically you. Thank you for being a role model for others who will come out because you had the courage to do so now. https://t.co/Fi6QatftK5— Asa_Abraham (@Rivka_Penninah) February 19, 2022
One fan said Jasmine Kennedie’s coming out mirrored her own experience, and that the episode made her “bawl”.
She said: “When you said the two words, ‘I’m trans,’ I immediately started bawling. It reminded me so much about how scared I was to say I was trans and I felt it so hard to finally do it.
“I’m so proud of you and so happy for you and you’re so so gorgeous.”
When you said the two words, "I'm trans," I immediately started bawling. It reminded me so much about how scared I was to say I was trans and I felt it so hard to finally do it. I'm so proud of you and so happy for you and you're so so gorgeous. 💜💜💜💜— Riley (@RilesIsTall) February 19, 2022
Colby told Kennedie on the show that it took “strength” to come out.
“The energy you need, you pull (from) in yourself; you don’t have to look outside yourself to find that. The woman that you are is housed within you,” she said.
“The fact that you had the strength to bring that forward is the affirmation you were needing to push yourself into who you were going to be… You owe it to yourself to be happy and to live your life as the human being that you want to be.”
Fellow Drag Race contestant Bosco also came out as trans last week, stating that she is “in a place where I’m surrounded by love and support”.
“Love from my heaven-sent boyfriend, stunning peers and incredible friends,” she said on Instagram.
The drag star concluded: “I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I’m starting to see her peek through more and more.”
