Charice Pempengco Changes Name, Comes Out as Transgender

Charice Pempengco has a major announcement to make.

And it is this:

The singer/actress is no longer known as Charice Pempengco.

The Filipino star, who rose to fame in American for her role on Glee 2007, says she nows goes by the name Jake Zyrus.

This change is consistent with what the artist told Oprah Winfrey in an interview three years ago, during which she told the talk show host that her “soul is male.”

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love and respect,” Zyrus wrote on Instagram on Monday. “I love you back and I’m sending peace to everyone.”

The transgender entertainer deleted all previous social media posts, marking this name change as a fresh start in his life.

He added on Twitter, shortly after making the above statement:

“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.”

Dubbed by Oprah as “the most talented girl in the world,” Zyrus became the first Asian solo singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart with the release of 2010’s “Charice,”

It debuted at the time at number-eight.

The rising star also made an  appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and other daytime program, using thoise platforms to cover such hits as “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” “I Will Always Love You,” “I Have Nothing,” and “My Heart Will Go On.”

She now 25 years old.

But at the age of 16, Zyrus appeared at Madison Square Garden to perform a duet of “Because You Loved Me” with idol Céline Dion.

Pretty darn impressive, no?

On Glee Season 2, Zyrus came on board as Sunshine Corazon, a talented singer and foreign exchange student who teamed up with New Directions and immediately established a rivalry with Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry.

The character eventually joined the glee club Vocal Adrenaline and appeared in three episodes of the show.

Along the way, the actor sang the songs “Telephone,” “Listen,’ and “All By Myself.”

Zyrus came out as a lesbian in 2013.

He then talked to Oprah once again, this time for a segment on Winfrey’s “Where Are They Now,” discussing rumors of a gender transition head-on.

“I’m not going to go through that stage where I change everything,” Zyrus said at that time. “I’ll cut my hair and wear boy clothes and everything, but that’s all.”

He added:

“I knew when I was 5. Then, when I was 10, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s it, I’m gay.’”

Thankfully, social media users have been nothing but supportive in light of this announcement.

We’d like to also send along our best wishes and congratulations fo Jake.

Everyone should live a life true to who they are.

Do whatever makes you happy, people. YOLO, after all.

View Slideshow: 14 Noteworthy Transgender Pioneers

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Andy Cohen Says Good Won Over Evil in "Survivor" Transgender Outing (VIDEO)

Andy Cohen thinks the ‘Survivor’ contestant who outed his fellow castmate as transgender did a terrible thing, but believes there’s a silver lining. We got Andy Thursday at LAX where he was clearly disgusted by what went down — Jeff Varner telling…

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"Survivor: Game Changers" Star Apologizes ... Sorry, I Outed You As Transgender (VIDEO)

“Survivor: Game Changers” star Jeff Varner apologized again for outing his transgender co-star during Wednesday’s tribal meeting, comparing the move to assault. Jeff wrote a lengthy apology to Zeke Smith, who was born a woman, saying he…

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Transgender Survivor Contestant Outed By Fellow Castaway

Fans of Survivor are accustomed to intensely dramatic moments, particularly during the show"s "tribal council" scenes.

But on last night"s episode, one castaway took things much too far and left both viewers and his fellow contestants in shock.

In an effort to save himself from elimination, cast member Jeff Varner made a last ditch appeal to the council that for some reason involved outing fellow contestant Zeke Smith.

“There is deception here. Deceptions on levels, Jeff, that these guys don’t even understand,” Varner said, addressing his teammates and the show"s host, Jeff Probst.

Varner then turned to Smith and asked, “Why haven’t you told anyone that you’re transgender?”

Not surprisingly, the disgusting move backfired spectacularly.

Varner"s own teammates condemned his actions, and he was voted off the island shortly thereafter.

Varner attempted to backtrack and justify his strategy, but thankfully, his excuses fell on deaf ears:

“I argue for the rights of transgender people every day in the state of North Carolina,” Varner said.

“I would never say or do anything to hurt anyone here. Jeff, I’m arguing for my life. I feel like I’ve got to throw everything at the wall.”

Asked about the moment that he was outed against his will on national TV, Smith told People magazine:

“I think he hoped others would believe that trans people are dangerous and fraudulent."

He added:

“[Varner"s] reasoning is infinitely worse than him outing me because it’s the same one used to discriminate against, attack and murder trans people. What’s great is that nobody bought it.”

Watch the jaw-dropping moment that Varner employed the worst strategy in Survivor history in the clip below:

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U.S. Supreme Court Punts on Transgender Bathrooms

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to rule in a case that could have established a hotly-contested transgender issue … the right to choose which bathroom they use. The court was set to hear the case this month but sent it back down to a lower…

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U.S. Supreme Court Punts on Transgender Bathrooms

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to rule in a case that could have established a hotly-contested transgender issue … the right to choose which bathroom they use. The court was set to hear the case this month but sent it back down to a lower…

ReadMore…

Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox Run to Transgender Teen"s Defense in Supreme Court Case

Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox just joined a transgender teen’s fight in the Supreme Court, which pits Caitlyn, a staunch Republican, against President Trump’s agenda. The case centers around Gavin Grimm — a transgender HS…

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Transgender Turmoil: Stars SLAM Donald Trump for Bathroom Bill

Stars from across nearly every Hollywood industry have taken to social media in order to blast Donald Trump.

In this case, the topic at hand is the President"s decision to revoke federal protections for transgender students that had allowed them to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities.

The administration has rolled back guidelines Barack Obama put in place toward the end of his second term, alleging that somehow transgender individuals using whichever bathroom they choose is placing non-transgender individuals in danger.

Here"s a look at what various celebrities think of this decision:

1. Ellen DeGeneres

Just seeing the news about removing laws protecting trans people. This isn’t about politics. It’s about human rights, and it’s not okay.

2. Ellen Page

We need to protect trans youth and stand up against this cruelty that hurts our kids. Support @Translifeline.

3. Brie Larson

This is disgusting. This is unacceptable. I #StandWithGavin and every Trans person who deserve nothing less than protection and equality.

4. Lance Bass

What an asshole! Trump administration withdraws federal protections on transgender bathrooms in schools.

5. Wilson Cruz

Standing with my Trans fam. This is not ok. This is an attack on all of us. I love you.

6. Kathy Griffin

Oh yeah! Because #trans students are the REAL threat. Jesus. #LGBT #LGBTQ #wtf @BetsyDeVosED @jeffsessions.

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Jackie Evancho"s Transgender Sister Undergoing Reassignment (VIDEO)

Jackie Evancho’s transgender sister will undergo surgery to begin reassignment the same week Jackie belts out the national anthem at Donald Trump’s inauguration … TMZ has learned. Sources close to the Evancho family tell us Jackie’s sister,…

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Gigi Gorgeous, Transgender YouTube Star, Detained in Dubai

Gigi Gorgeous, a transgender model and a very good friend of Kylie Jenner, ran into a serious problem while visiting Dubai this week.

In news broken by TMZ, Gorgeous was detained for several hours at the airport due to her transgender status.

Having risen to impressive levels of Internet fame for documenting her transition on social media, Gigi told the website that she was stopped at immigration.

“I was told you are transgender. You cannot come into the country,” Gigi explained to TMZ.

Gorgeous was born Gregory Lazzarato.

However, she says her passport has been updated since she her gender change and now reads “Gigi Loren.”

Airport police, however, claim the document describes Giig as male and the passport photo depicts Gigi as a male.

Gigi’s response to this assertion? It simply isn’t true.

It is sadly true that, in Dubai, the “imitation of women by men” is illegal and that violators face up to a year in prison.

It appears now as if Gorgeous is back in America, having updated her Instagram account with a photo of her friend, Nats Getty, hugging her at the airport.

She wrote a long caption along with the photo, detailing her ordeal overseas.

“After being detained and held at the Dubai airport for over 5 hours, this was the moment my baby came to rescue me,” Gigi wrote this morning.

“Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my entire life and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.

How you can be denied entry somewhere just because of who you are is seriously disgusting and also very scary.”

She concluded:

“This further proves the need for CHANGE.

“I am now on my way to somewhere much more accepting. Safe and sound and happy. I love you guys.”

In 2014, Gigi made this significant change in her life, documenting the journey on social media.

As a result, she earned a large Internet following, having amassed over 2.3 million YouTube subscribers at last check.

Which is a great start. We obviously hope all of those subscribers are also supporters of Gigi.

Still, the transgender issue clearly remains a polarizing one not just here, but across the globe.

Let’s hope that changes soon.

Hollywood Hillbillies Star Comes Out as Transgender

Michael Kittrell has made a bold declaration.

And an even bolder decision about his life.

The Hollywood Hillbillies cast member, known to viewers of that Reelz Channel program as “Angry Ginger,” has announced on YouTube that he now wants to be known by another name:

Claire.

Indeed, Michael Kittrell says he is transgender and is in the process of becoming a woman.

In the following video, Kittrell says she has been undergoing hormone therapy for many months now.

"I"m not going to live another year of my life pretending to be someone else. I"m just not going to do it," she said in the emotional post.

"I know a lot of you are going to make fun of me. I know a lot of you are going to think that I"m joking. This is the hardest video I"ve ever made, because I"m not."

She"s aware that some critics may think this is a publicity stunt, but she has a very pointed response to those who take that viewpoint.

Claire tells TMZ it would be extremely "dark" for anyone to make a joke out of something so painful and something so personal to so many folks out there.

This is a real issue and it deserves to be treated with respect.

Kittrell does mention her very own grandmother isn"t fully buying this transition yet, but that it"s starting to sink in more and more every day to her.

Hollywood Hillbillies tells the story of Kittrell and his aforementioned grandmother, as they move from rural Georgia to Hollywood in order to take advantage of their 150 million-plus YouTube views.

In making this major announcement, Kittrell Tweeted a photo of herself as Claire. Here it is:

Claire adds below that she"s been in touch with Caitlyn Jenner, telling her many followers:

"I"m not going to pretend to be someone else anymore. Not in front of the camera and not behind one.

"It may seem cliché, but Caitlyn Jenner helped me out a lot. I know that she gets a lot of flack because she is a lady of means. She has a lot of money and not every trans person can look like her because she"s able to afford surgery."

Claire admits that she can"t afford surgery just yet, but that she"s at least happy for now that she"ll be living as her true self.

Watch the full explanation and video below and then join us in wishing Kittrell the very best of luck.

Kris Jenner: Caitlyn Never Told Me She Was Transgender, Like, Ever

These two are fighting like an old married couple.

Oh wait.

Caitlyn Jenner invited her ex-wife, Kris down to New Orleans to hang with the ladies on last night"s episode of I Am Cait, and I would be lying if I thought she wasn"t a hit.

Over dinner, Caitlyn"s friend, Jenny asked if the Olympian told Kris about being transgender "early on" in their marriage.

"No," Kris replied.

"Oh I did too!" Caitlyn insisted. 

"She keeps saying she told me but she didn"t do it," Kris says. "What happened was a conversation in a driveway, he says to me, "Do you ever want to have more kids?" And I said, "Oh God no." So he says, "Oh either do I, that"s like, that"s great! And I couldn"t have any more kids if I wanted to.""

Kris then explained how Caitlyn skirted around the issues of her taking a bunch of hormones in the "80s (before they met), but wasn"t up front about the fact that she was transitioning into a woman.

"He never said it was estrogen, he never said anything, he just said, "I took some s–t in the "80s."" Kris added.

"There was no, "I am transgender.""

Watch the video below for Caitlyn"s reaction.

Kris Jenner Tried to "Cure" Caitlyn Jenner of Being Transgender?!

In Kardashian Dynasty, a controversial new book about “America’s Royal Family,” author Ian Halperin accuses Kris Jenner of trying to “cure” Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce) of her transgender identification while they were married.

“Kris believed the only way to ‘bring Bruce right’ was through the church,” Halperin wrote.

“She told him to ‘pray’ for guidance and he would be helped,” he continued.

“This sounds suspiciously like conversion therapy, the discredited method used by some religious believers to suppress homosexuality.”

Most folks understand this practice is bogus, as transgenderism is inherent rather than a disorder that can simply be reversed at will.

At the time, however, Kris reportedly believed it could work.

“She orchestrated a concerted campaign to keep Jenner as a man,” wrote Halperin. “Otherwise, they believe Jenner would have made the ‘transition’ long ago.”

The author also asserts that Kris feared Caitlyn’s transition would damage the family brand, and the she took steps to thwart her spouse from seeking out gender reassignment.

Before Caitlyn publicly transitioned in 2015, it was widely reported that Kris had struggled with the decision, which would understandably be difficult for any spouse.

But accusations of the momager going to such extreme lengths to prevent it may damage her reputation more than ever before.

Holly Woodlawn Dies; Transgender Actress, Pioneer Was 69

Holly Woodlawn, a transgender trailblazer and actress, has passed away at the age of 69 after succumbing to a battle with cancer.

Woodlawn famously became Andy Warhol’s muse, starred in Paul Morrissey’s 1970 movie Trash, and also inspired an iconic song.

Growing up in Miami, she rose to fame in the early 1970s through her work with Warhol and Morrissey, and Lou Reed took notice.

In his 1972 hit “Walk on the Wild Side,” the singer famously says, “Holly came from Miami, Fla. Hitchhiked her way across the USA.”

“Plucked her eyebrows on the way. Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, ‘Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.”

In 1992, she published her memoir, A Low Life in High Heels and saw a career revival in the ’90s thanks to several independent films.

More recently, she appeared as Vivian on Season 1 of Transparent.

Holly’s friend and co-star, Joe Dallesandro, confirmed her passing.

“I arrived to the hospice and went to Holly’s room, #403,” he wrote.

“I was next to her talking and telling her all the love that was being sent her way from everyone. It was like she knew I was there.”

“I am sorry to say at 3:06 p.m., Holly Woodlawn passed away.”

Woodlawn was remembered at Sunday’s The Trevor Project’s TrevorLIVE event in Los Angeles by NCIS actress Pauley Perrette.

“Pauley went off script [during he presenting duties] to honor Holly Woodlawn,” an attendee said of the CBS crime drama star.

“She said she was informed about her passing in the car on the way over to the event. She got teary eyed and was clearly emotional.”

Watch: Caitlyn Jenner"s Transgender Day of Remembrance Tribute

November 20th is Transgender Remembrance day, founded in 1999 by transgender woman Gwendolyn Anne Smith to "raise awareness and memorialize the transgender victims of senseless hate crimes."

Caitlyn Jenner and transgender advocate Chandi Moore created a PSA for the occasion, urging people to "listen to trans people"s stories, hire a trans person in your company, support a trans student at your school," and "love your trans child.

"Let"s all take action to put an end to hate and violence," Jenner said.

These words are especially relevant to Jenner, who"s been criticized by many as of late, both trans and non-trans.  Transparent creator Jill Soloway came to Jenner"s defense.

"Some trans women are really femme, some trans women are really butch," Soloway told the Huffington Post.

"Everybody"s different, and Caitlyn happens to be from a family – I"m a huge Kardashians fan – everybody in that family talks about hair and makeup and clothes all the time.

"It"s their hobby to look good, so that"s where Caitlyn comes from. Whether or not she has a right to do that – of course she has a right to do that. She"s a woman.

"Every woman has a right to be as femme or as not femme as they wish to be.  And it"s absolutely awesome that Glamour has honored her."

To learn more about Transgender Remembrance day, head over to GLAAD.org.

Transgender Woman Live Tweets Horrific TSA Experience

Shadi Petosky, a transgender television writer and producer, has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

In a series of Tweets on Monday afternoon, Petosky shared the traumatic endeavor she suffered through when simply trying to get to her gate for a flight.

The experience took place at an Orlando-area airport and we"ll let Petosky take it from here…

1. Wait… what is this?!?

It’s not a weapon, we can assure you, officers.

2. Be a man!

Because the machine cares what gender it checks? Or because the agent chose this moment to take some kind of moral stand?

3. Spreading the word

Petosky says she Tweeted this experience so this hopefully would never happen to another transgender individual.

4. Who cares?!?

Sorry, we’re getting upset here. Is she a danger to her fellow passengers? No? Then LET HER THROUGH!

5. Is this the angriest face you have?

Because it doesn’t do a sufficient job of expressing the proper outrage here.

6. We ask again:

Is the phone a danger to other passengers? No? Just a danger to your reputation? Ah, okay then.

View Slideshow

Jeffrey Tambor Talks Winning Big At The Emmys, Representing The Transgender Community, & Jimmy Kimmel Eating His Name!

Jeffrey Tambor won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series — at least that’s what Jimmy Kimmel said!

The late night host was presenting the award Sunday night when he chewed up the envelope containing the winner’s name!

Photos: All The Best Highlights From The 2015 Emmys!

After his win for playing a transgender woman on Amazon‘s groundbreaking series Transparent, the 71-year-old was okay with not having evidence to support his win — he was more worried about Jimmy!

He said:

“Well Jimmy Kimmel did this business about eating the ballot or whatever, and I wondered if there were emergency services here.”

Or maybe they should start serving food at these award shows? LOLz!

The Arrested Development star said the award represents more than just his win, specifically praising the transgender community. He said:

“It was quite a moment, but it was great. I’m not shy and bashful about holding this up because this is bigger than me, and it represents what Amazon has done, and what the transgender community is doing, and what our show is about. And we are the little engine that could. I hope more people watch it and get to experience this revolution.”

Tambor also reflected on his touching acceptance speech in which he dedicated his award to the trans community, which has become increasingly more visible over the past few years. He added:

“I know that we are in the comedy category, but I do believe with our stories and our humor, we are moving the whole question forward. But when I got up in the morning, or the evening, or when I go through my dressing room door, I go, ‘I’ve got to do this right.’ I’m a cisgender male, I’ve been given one of the biggest responsibilities. I always thought acting was this, and I always thought there was teaching in the laugh and in humor, and with the laughter and with real humor you can kill the prejudice and keep it far away.”

We congratulate the actor for his award, and all the positive awareness Transparent is spreading!

[Image via Nicky Nelson/WENN/FOX.]