Adore Delano, who gained her fame through RuPaul’s Drag Race and American Idol, has publicly come out as trans to her fans in a heartfelt and emotional video on her Instagram.

In the video captioned “It’s time we have ‘the talk'”, she went into the details of her transition and her personal life. Although she wanted to keep the beginning of her transition “hush-hush”, she explained that she felt the need to open up to her followers and fans, commenting that there is “a lot of talk about my body and questions about my gender.”

The artist shared that she has been doing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for three months but wanted to “go through the beginning stages of the puberty privately”. Along with recently committing to being sober, she has felt that HRT has “been very enlightening and has made me probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my adult life.”

Delano also opened up about how she initially came out as trans to her mother when she was still a teenager and actively dressed femininely throughout her school experience. But when she was presented with the chance to audition for American Idol she began “suppressing everything” and presenting as masculine, explaining “I reinvented myself into something that was so uncomfortable – it was almost like a sacrifice to get everything I wanted.”

She continued to dress masculine when on RuPaul’s Drag Race, abandoning the potential to transition and describing it as “carrying on the storyline” after appearing on American Idol. “I love the transformation and the binary in-between the character and Danny,” she described, referring to her birth name.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Adore Delano (@adoredelano)

She ends her coming out video positively as she describes embracing her gender identity as going from “dysphoria to euphoria”. The artist also shared with her fans that she will be getting various surgeries in the next few months and will look a little different but will still be her fans’ “party girl.”

“I am transgender,” she proudly announced as she concluded the video, “I’m going by she/her.”

Messages of support poured in from fans and stars alike, who congratulated Adore Delano on her journey as she shared her trans identity with the public. RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage commented, “Texting you princesa!!!! I’m so happy for you could BURST.”

Delano’s close friend and drag queen Courtney Act said, “I accompany you on any journey. I love you forever. My ride or die!”

One fan commented: “Adore you, and your world now. It takes a lot to share this. What a perfect name to choose amongst all that confusion. We adore you”.