Drag Race star Willow Pill proudly comes out as trans: ‘I’ve felt lonely keeping this to myself’
Drag Race queen Willow Pill comes out as trans (Willow Pill/RuPaul’s Drag Race/VH1)
RuPaul’s Drag Race series 14 contestant Willow Pill has come out as trans, saying that they are “starting to finally feel bits of happiness with my face and body”.
Coming out in an emotional post on Twitter, Willow explained that it has taken “a long time” to come to terms with their gender identity due to their chronic illness and that they are still “not sure” where they fit on the gender spectrum.
Confirming that they now go as Willow both in and out of drag, using she/they pronouns, they wrote on Twitter: “It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with my transness because so much space has been taken up by my illness.
“My condition has caused me so much physical and emotional pain that my body became something I always wanted out of.
“Eventually, hating my body for failing me and hating myself for not being a girl was so constant and intertwined that it felt totally normal. I know it’s not my fault, just the way I’ve learned to survive.”
https://twitter.com/willowpillqueen/status/1499506142090653705?s=21
They explained that they underwent surgery in November 2021 to make their face “a bit more feminine” and identify as trans femme, but “I also don’t have to know now”.
Willow Pill, 27, added: “I want to share this because I have felt so lonely keeping this to myself. I’ve rarely been able to talk to other people with similar stories, though I know there are many out there.
“I’m so tired of holding my pain in… I’m starting to finally feel bits of happiness with my face and body, and that’s a start. I love ya’ll so much!”
Willow explained that being on Drag Race – series 14 has five trans contestants, the most in the show’s history – made them feel “euphoria” after the COVID-19 pandemic.
They said: “Much of that (exploration of their gender) is due to being on Drag Race and feeling euphoria being Willow for the first time since quarantine and being around a bunch of queer and trans friends on set.”
View this post on Instagram
Last month, fellow Drag Race series 14 queen Jasmine Kennedie also came out as trans, stating that another contestant, Kerri Colby, helped her to “affirm” her gender identity on the show.
Opening up on Untucked, 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.”
Drag Race contestant Bosco thanked her “heaven-sent boyfriend” when she came out as trans in February, 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.
