YouTuber NikkieTutorials Comes Out As Trans And Fans Shower Her In Love
Popular YouTuber and makeup artist NikkieTutorials has come out as transgender.
On Monday, the vlogger, whose real name is Nikkie de Jager, shared a 17-minute video titled, “I’m Coming Out.” In it, she laid out her journey as a trans woman and why she chose to talk about it now.
“Today I am here to share with you something that I always wanted to share with you one day, but under my own circumstances. It looks like that chance has been taken away from me so today I am taking back my own power,” she explained. “When I was younger, I was born in the wrong body, which means I am transgender.”
Nikkie said that she realized she was female from a very young age.
“By the age of 6, I grew my hair out. ... By the age of 7 or 8, I fully wore girls’ clothes only and it felt amazing,” she said, adding that as a teen she went on hormone therapy and growth stoppers, fully transitioning at 19.
The 25-year-old said that she had been “blackmailed” but did not name who threatened to expose her private information.
“I have been blackmailed by people that wanted to leak my story to the press,” Nikkie said, but she made clear later in the video that she feels liberated and that she “always wanted to share this” with her fans.
She also emphasized that she’s “still Nikkie. Nothing changes about that.”
“The last thing I want in my life is for you to not trust me anymore or to look at me with different eyes. Or look at me in a different manner. ... At the end of the day I am still Nikkie,” she said.
In response to the video, many fans, fellow vloggers, members of the trans community and celebrities have come out on social media to praise Nikkie. They’ve also shared their distaste for whoever is allegedly blackmailing the YouTuber:
nikkie tutorials built an empire as a trans woman for 10 years + & didn’t let her identity become the forefront of her career! She told no one. She is a self built CEO of her own artistry & sheer dedication to the beauty industry! #nikkietutorials pic.twitter.com/9kpGZGqqIV
— jord (@jordansjungle_) January 13, 2020
i’m so happy n proud for @NikkieTutorials 💕 ur freee fkn beautiful n a fkn legend . that shit had me emotional 💕💕💕
— KIM PETRAS (@kimpetras) January 14, 2020
#beautiful I support of your journey sister @NikkieTutorials https://t.co/u8ALkjd2tA
— HailieSahar (@213Sahar) January 14, 2020
literally blackmailing someone to come out is the ugliest and worst thing is the world. nothing is scarier than coming out, especially as a trans woman. i just gotta day i love and respect nikkie so much and am so proud of her! @NikkieTutorials pic.twitter.com/ianoHsAtz8
— ♡ (@names_erik) January 13, 2020
me & the girls searching for the person who threatened to out nikkietutorials pic.twitter.com/19BeJVFGpG
— daiso did me dirty (@ZOOWEEMAMI) January 14, 2020
TRANS IS BEAUTIFUL 🌈 @NikkieTutorials i am so proud of u! i know how hard it is. to see u out and living ur truth has brought me to tears! u don’t know how many people ur inspiring and helping by sharing ur story. i am one of them! she said WOMAN. https://t.co/SoUOndNw7U
— Nikita Dragun (@NikitaDragun) January 13, 2020
I’m so happy for nikkie I cant stop smiling today :’)
— James Charles (@jamescharles) January 13, 2020
nikkie tutorials being a trans woman: 💕💕💕💕💖💖💖💖💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💘💘💘💘💝💝💝💝💝💝💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💖💖💖💖💖💖💖🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
nikkie tutorials being blackmailed into coming out: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪— hoetoñal (@queerarcana) January 13, 2020
“I can’t believe I’m saying this today… I am transgender.” @NikkieTutorials, a popular YouTuber known for her makeup videos, has shared that she is transgender.
Nikkie, we support you and we know that your visibility help trans youth and adults alike feel a little less alone. https://t.co/hbRpedHQsP— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) January 13, 2020
nikkie's story is such an amazing example of how having a supportive community/family can be so important to a trans person. i'm so happy she had people around her that allowed her to express herself and helped her find her way. support your trans kids/friends/family!
— carter (@roseyaurora) January 13, 2020
Of course, where there are fans there are also haters. One of the most outspoken people to bash Nikkie’s coming out was the sister of Too Faced Cosmetics co-founder Jerrod Blandino, who apparently changed her Instagram bio to address the video.
Several Instagram accounts dedicated to beauty and lifestyle drama shared that her bio read: “Transgender huh? That’s not the only thing she’s been LYING about.”
I’m so disgusted... (this is jerrod blandino’s sister) pic.twitter.com/8YLu68ZPzA
— positiviᵗᵉᵃ (@TeaSpillYT) January 14, 2020
On Tuesday, the bio was changed again to read: “Lets be clear, I love trans people & dislike anyone who lies to hurt others! Period!”
The bio swap appears to be part of an ongoing feud between Nikkie and Too Faced Cosmetics, which you can read about here.
At any rate, keep being you, Nikkie. Most people seem to be happy about that.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.