RuPaul’s Drag Race star and drag queen Aja has reflected on her gender journey, claiming that “thousands” of people unfollowed her after she came out as trans.

The All Stars 10 queen came out as a trans woman in 2021, saying she had lived “as non-binary since 2018 and have recently begun to identify more with the feminine aspect of my identity.” She also updated her pronouns to she/her.

In a Wednesday (14 May) interview with Pride, the ballroom performer explained that her most recent appearance in the franchise affirmed that she has a place in drag culture as a trans woman, “and not feel ashamed about it”.

“All Stars 10 was the first time in my drag career that I felt like it was okay for me to be a trans woman and do drag successfully.”

But despite the strides she has made in the drag scene since coming out, it wasn’t always easy. 

“Quitting drag to navigate my trans identity came with a lot of pushback,” she told the outlet. “I had people who no longer wanted to represent me or talk to me, and I lost a lot of friends. I lost a lot of supporters. Thousands and thousands of people unfollowed me on social media.

“A lot of false narratives started coming around, and it just became like a punch line. It became a joke. It was…a lot of stuff that was just completely not true. Drag Race changed my life. When I went on it in season nine, I was in such a horrible situation before that, and it allowed me to not just blossom in life, but it created a bridge for me to be in a safe space, and I would never take that for granted.

“But at the same time, I was very grateful because I was able to keep a big portion of my fan base who was like… ‘We don’t care. We love you for who you are in every stage and capacity.’ And I just feel so blessed and lucky, because not everybody has that.”

If this story has affected you, call the Trans Lifeline Hotline to speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator with full anonymity and confidentiality at (877) 565-8860. Support is available Monday-Friday, 10 AM – 6 PM Pacific, 11 AM – 7 PM Mountain, 12 PM – 8 PM Central, and 1 PM – 9 PM Eastern. 

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