Tag Archives: Transgender Issues

Detransitioner says he was ‘brainwashed’ into having gender reassignment surgery by woke doctors

A detransitioner has told how he was ‘brainwashed’ into having gender reassignment surgery after believing himself to be a woman trapped in the wrong body.

Going by the name Shape Shifter, the 32-years-old who lives in Massachusetts grew up in a Muslim country in the Balkans where even being gay was frowned upon, but he believed that if he transitioned to female he would finally feel happy with himself.

He was given a referral letter by Fenway Health in Massachusetts, which he claims has been taken over by biased pro-trans activists.

The surgery itself was performed by Dr Sherman Leis of the The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery. Leis is regarded as the United States’ most experienced gender reassignment surgeon.

But soon after the operation was complete in 2015 in his mid-20s, Shape Shifter quickly realized he had made a terrible mistake, and that he was just a gay man who enjoyed presenting in a feminine way. 

The procedures he has undergone – which include the removal of his penis and the creation of a ‘neo-vagina’ are irreversible.

They have left him with osteoporosis, scoliosis, a ‘vagina’ which his body believes is a wound, and which it tries to close up, as well as a host of mental health conditions including depression and a reduced sex-drive.  

Shape Shifter believed that making the initial switch to a woman would make him finally feel happy in his own body.

But he ended up feeling even more depressed than before the surgery, ultimately realizing that he was simply a man who enjoyed expressing his femininity. 

He still wears makeup, and has long hair, but says men like him need to be encouraged to feel comfortable in their femininity, without feeling pressured into medically transitioning.  

Shape Shifter, 32, was born male, transitioned to female but then reverted back. The surgeries have left him without a penis and without a working vagina also

Speaking to Blaire White, 28, herself transgender, during a more than hour-long interview, he explained how after the initial surgery to become female he suddenly fell into a deep depression.

During the interview, which has been posted to YouTube and received almost 500,000 views, Shape explained how the new vagina that had been constructed for him using tissue from his penis fell far short of expectations and left him unable to have intercourse.

‘I was happy maybe for a month or two but then got even more depressed after surgery. My neo-vagina started constricting. I thought I was going to spread my legs and get f****d and that never really happened after I gave away my penis.   

‘I was online telling people how depressed I was. A lot of people thought it was because of the surgery… but I had no energy, I was so lethargic, I had brain fog and no sex drive at all. I then found that all the tranny-chasers stopped following me and I was competing with other women for men.’

Shape believes a lot of people would reconsider having surgery in the first place if they knew of the possible complications and regret that can follow

White asked Shape what it was like to ‘miss your penis’.

‘I just wanted to have my surgery and then blend in and complete my transition. When I started taking testosterone I had no sex drive. I went from enjoying sex to avoiding it,’ Shape explained.

‘I miss just being an average dude and obsessing over sex, money and my career. It sucked being heteronormative and doing the whole emotional thing. Now I feel like a man trapped in a woman-lookalike body.

‘I will never be able to get my penis back which is extremely traumatic for me. I want it back and I can’t. Sex is traumatic for me now because I’ve had botched surgeries.’

Shape says he even dreams about having a penis, while before his first transition he would dream about having a vagina.  

Host, White, asked how difficult it was for Shape to revert to being male. 

Speaking to Blaire White, 28, right, herself transgender, Shape warns others who may be considering transitioning to think carefully of their options beforehand

Shape, pictured, says he even dreams about having a penis, while before his first transition he would dream about having a vagina

‘These detransitioners regret the surgeries and then because they’ve got the surgeries they’re seen as like an enemy by these activist doctors and then they can’t even get help to revise the surgeries because trans surgeons hate detransitioners?’ White suggested. 

‘Pretty much’, Shape responded. 

‘What they don’t tell you is because they’ve labelled them as difficult patients but even beyond that, the one thing they don’t tell you is once your first surgery didn’t go right and second one didn’t go right, after a while nobody wants to touch other surgeons work because they don’t want to attach their name to a complicated case.  Every time you go in there is more scar tissue and more complications.’

Shape said that despite wanting to detransition he is happy to present as female and appear like a woman in terms of how he dresses.

‘I just declared myself to be a woman but when i changed my paperwork or when it was all libbed out and drinking kool-aid and was brainwashed by the trans community. I simply enjoy presenting as feminine and having long hair.’

In a more than hour-long interview, Blaire White, herself trans, asked Shape Shifter what it was like to ‘miss your penis’ now that he is male once again

Shape says that he is trying to navigate his sexuality moving forward.

‘Looking back I don’t think my mind was able to comprehend what was happening. Even when I was a woman, I only knew what it was like to be a man on estrogen. And now I can’t go back to being a traditional man.’

‘I will never know what it’s like to be a woman, at least biologically,’ added host, White, agreeing with him.

Shape explained how there is no long-term research as to what taking all of the artificial hormones will do to his body in the long term.

‘I’ll have to have some kind of hormone in my body so it’s going to be estrogen only because if I don’t take any hormones, I already have osteoporosis and it will continue to get worse. I went almost seven years without any hormones. The hormones I am taking are similar to what women get during menopause.’ 

Shape explained how having undergone the surgeries, neither having a working penis nor a vagina that functions and now required to take hormones for the rest of his life, feels like a medical experiment gone horribly wrong.

Shape explained how neither having a working penis nor a vagina that functions and required to take hormones for the rest of his life, feels like a medical experiment gone horribly wrong

‘It’s transphobic to say it but after I’ve been through the system, I 100 percent feel like I was part of some cruel medical and social experiment – except nobody checked in on me,’ Shape explained. 

‘If I’d killed myself I would not have even been included in any statistics. I’m sure they would just write me off as the cause being some other issue. Moreover, I’ve spent thousands of dollars. I’ve traveled across the country and did all the consults trying to get help.’

Shape believes that a lot of people might reconsider having surgery in the first place if they knew of the possible complications and regret that can follow in the moments following transitions. However, he believes it would be ‘bad for business’ if surgeons alluded to such realities. 

After his first surgery to become female, Shape Shifter quickly realized he had made a terrible mistake, and that he was just a gay man who enjoyed presenting in a feminine way

Shape has blamed Fenway Health, an LGBT health care and advocacy organization based in Boston, Massachusetts for the position he finds himself in currently.

‘One of the biggest mistake is because I went to Fenway Health. A lot of their staff is LGBT and one of my therapists was trans as far as I know. Initially I thought it was good because she would understand me but now looking back she was biased. You know it’s kind of an activist hospital in a way.

‘I feel like my life would have been better and more productive if over the last 10 years I spent expanding definition of what it is to be a man instead of trying to just blend in like society wants and trying to be a heteronormative woman. 

‘I don’t really know what the future holds. But we need to go back to the science lab to work out what true trans is. Do you want to be on hormones or have surgery?’

‘I f****d up my life, I could have been so much more.’

Shape feels his time might have been put to better use by defining what it is to be a man instead of trying blend into society as a woman

The whole issue of gender reassignment surgery has been the subject of heated debate recently after Boston Hospital was forced to defend itself over its Gender Multispecialty Service Program, or GeMS, which it claims provides gender-affirming care to ‘eligible adolescents and young adults’. 

The hospital prides itself on being ‘home to the first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the US’ and has been accused, it says falsely, of performing hysterectomies to underage children as part of that care. 

Much of the controversy stems from an allegation on right wing social media sensation LibsofTikTok – who was doxed as Brooklyn real estate agent Chaya Raichik – that the hospital offered such treatment, in a still public tweet.

The claims are based off of videos from the hospital’s YouTube account that discusses medical care provided to transgender patients. The video has since been removed.  

The story gained traction among activists critical of gender affirming care for underage kids, even going as far as former advisor to President Trump Stephen Miller, who called it ‘monstrous’. 

Podcaster David J. Harris called one of the videos ‘pure evil’ and made the claim of underage hysterectomies. 

Activists Christopher Rufo and Matt Walsh also slammed the hospital, with Walsh saying: ‘Every sane and decent human being in the country must unite against it’. 

Posters on right wing message boards have even allegedly called for the doctors to be ‘executed’ and to call the hospital on the phone, according to Vice.   

Boston Children’s Hospital prides itself on being ‘home to the first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the US’ says it’s faced threats and false claims

Boston Children’s told DailyMail.com in a statement: ‘The commentary and the online attention that followed was based on the incorrect statement that Boston Children’s performs genital surgeries on minors in connection with transgender care’. 

‘For hysterectomies and other genital surgeries performed as part of gender-affirming care, Boston Children’s requires a patient to be capable of consenting for themselves. Age 18 is used to reflect the standard age of majority for medical decision-making. Boston Children’s does not perform genital surgeries as part of gender-affirming care on a patient under the age of 18.’

Multiple fact-checkers, including PolitiFact and Lead Stories, both debunked the idea that they perform hysterectomies on children. 

The hospital’s statement continues: ‘We are deeply concerned by these attacks on our clinicians and staff fueled by misinformation and a lack of understanding and respect for our transgender community.’

Libs of TikTok then went on to claim that the hospital’s denial was a lie and said that they had materials allowing girls to get surgeries as young as 17 in a Substack post. 

The account wrote: ‘Although I never mentioned a specific age, Boston Children’s does in fact provide ‘gender-affirming’ surgeries for minors. After the videos went viral, they quietly updated their website. They changed the age of requirement for a vaginoplasty from 17 to 18 and added ‘we only perform gender-affirming hysterectomies on patients who are age 18 or older.’ 

A molecular geneticist participating in a UC Berkeley debate argued that trans women are not women and should not be legally treated as such, citing women’s safety fears of trans women in changing rooms and prisons

Issues over trans women also became a topic of discussion earlier this month when a female molecular geneticist participating in a UC Berkeley debate argued that trans women were not women and should not be legally treated as such, citing examples of women’s safety fears of trans women in changing rooms and prisons.

The geneticist argued that legally treating trans women as women, and allowing them into changing rooms and prisons, means women have put a man’s comfort ahead of their own safety – claiming that the behavior of men is inherently different than that of women.  

‘Women have internalized misogyny to the point where the man’s comfort takes precedence over the woman’s safety,’ she said. ‘This is the most insane thing that has happened in my life, that women are a feeling now.’

‘There’s a reason why they (trans women) don’t want to be in men’s prisons,’ she said. ‘Men beat each other to death. Women don’t do that.’

The debate, moderated by Peter Boghossian, author and professor of philosophy, was held in April at UC Berkeley that posed the phrase: ‘Trans women should be treated as women.’

The geneticist strongly disagreed with the claim, first arguing that trans women are not women, because ‘being male or female is developmental, and you cannot go backwards.’

Another participant, a woman, an aspiring molecular geneticist, agreed with the claim, and the third participant, a man, initially stood on the ‘disagree’ line but moved over to ‘strongly disagree’ by the end of the discussion. 

When asked by the moderator why she strongly disagreed in the claim, the geneticist responded without hesitation: ‘Because I’m a molecular geneticist.’

She continued: ‘Being male or being female is a developmental process. You can’t go backwards. You cant change your sex, like you cannot do that.’ 

The geneticist appeared to get emotional while talking about the subject, telling the moderator: ‘I’m sorry this bothers me so much. My heart is pounding.’

She then gave her stance on trans women in changing rooms and prisons. 

‘I go to the women’s changing room at my gym and there’s a dude there and he’s putting on makeup and hoop earrings and this is not something a woman does when she goes to work out,’ she explained. 

The moderator said he’s not familiar with women’s changing rooms and asks, is this behavior not common?

She responds: ‘No, nor do women beat each other to death. But men do.’  

The geneticist claimed that in prisons in California and across the country, women are getting raped and impregned by other ‘women.’

‘There’s a reason why they (trans women) don’t want to be in men’s prisons,’ she said. ‘Men beat each other to death. Women don’t do that.’

In an August 18 post on her ‘Justice 4 Demi’ blog, transgender inmate Demi Minor revealed she ended up in the emergency room after trying to remove her testicle with a razor

The 27-year-old has claimed she has been abused at her new prison, the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility (GSYCF), where staff are refusing to acknowledge her gender identity

Minor was born Demetrius Minor, a boy, and was just 16 when she broke into the home of her stepfather Theotis Butts’s home in Gloucester Township, New Jersey 

Meanwhile, a transgender prisoner who impregnated two of her fellow inmates at a women’s prison in New Jersey has revealed she tried to remove one of her testicles with a razor after being misgendered at her new men’s facility. 

Demi Minor, 27, was moved from Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township to the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility (GSYCF) with male inmates in June after guards learned of the pregnancies. 

Minor, who is serving a 30-year sentence for stabbing her former foster father to death, has since complained that she has been mistreated and abused at her new prison, where staff are refusing to acknowledge her gender identity. 

In an August 18 post on her Justice 4 Demi blog, she revealed she ended up in the emergency room after using a razor to cut out one of her testicles in an apparent suicide attempt.  

‘When I began to bleed, I did not even think about dying. I just thought about finally having relief from the pain that I felt,’ Minor wrote. 

‘Being here in a male prison, amplifies the harm that I once felt… I hate it all.’ 

Minor, who was first jailed at the age of 16, started to transition into a woman in 2020 and was transferred out of the male prison system to Mahan. 

The 800-inmate Mahan facility began housing transgender women – including those that have yet to undergo gender reassignment surgery – last year after a lawsuit brought by an inmate and the ACLU. It now has 27 trans prisoners. 

Minor was first jailed at the age of 16, but started to transition into a woman in 2020 and was transferred out of the male prison system to Mahan

Minor explained she began feeling ‘hopeless’ and ‘ignored’ at GSYCF on July 28 after she was asked to prove she was transgender despite having provided staff with medical records stating she had been ‘on hormones for years.’

She claims she was later told by the committee chair that there were some things that ‘we can biologically not change’, suggesting that ‘regardless of my transition without surgery I am a man.’

‘I ignored her comments. But the truth is everything she said hurt, and was hard not to cry in the meeting it was hard to know that the same people who I once admired were now responsible for placing me in harms (sic) way,’ she wrote. 

‘I started cutting again, and with a razor I begin (sic) making a incision to remove my testicle. In my head, I just wanted the pain to stop. I just wanted out of this. They don’t know what the hell that I am going through. 

‘Instead, if you have a penis, you deserve to be in a male prison. That is all central offices cares about,’ she added. 

Minor added that she has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, meaning she is ‘five times more likely’ to die by suicide, but admitted she sometimes ‘would rather not be here.

‘I have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and it makes me 5 times more likely to die by suicide. I hide these thoughts. I have often not told anyone how I truly feel, and how sometimes, I would rather not be here’.

Since her transfer, Minor claimed men write her letters asking for sexual favors and that she finds herself in some ‘dark places’.



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Ricky Gervais is accused of humiliating trans people in new Netflix show SuperNature

Ricky Gervais has been praised for hitting out at cancel culture in new Netflix show SuperNature by joking about ‘old fashioned’ and ‘new women with beards and c**ks’ as fans call it his ‘funniest stand-up ever’.

The comedian, 60, starts the show by describing comedy to the audience as ‘basically a bloke talking’, before purposely failing to recall any ‘funny female comedians’.

And just minutes into his opening monologue, Gervais yawns to the crowd as he talks about ‘those old-fashioned women, you know, with wombs’.

Talking to the audience about cancel culture and the transgender issues, he says: ‘Ah women. Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned women, you know the ones with wombs? Those f***ing dinosaurs.  

‘I love the new women. They’re great, aren’t they? The new ones we’ve been seeing lately. The ones with beards and c***s. They’re as good as gold, I love them. 

‘And now the old-fashioned ones say “oh, they want to use our toilets”. Why shouldn’t they use your toilets? For ladies! They are ladies — look at their pronouns!’

Acting out a discussion, he adds: ‘What about this person isn’t a lady? “Well, his penis.” Her penis, you f***ing bigot! “What if he rapes me?’ What if she rapes you, you f***ing TERF w***e?’

Discussing Kevin Hart’s decision to remove himself from hosting the Oscars in 2018 after historical homophobic tweets emerged, Gervais continues: ‘You can’t predict what will be offensive in the future. You don’t know who the dominant mob will be. 

The comedian, 60, starts the show by describing comedy to the audience as ‘basically a bloke talking’, before purposely failing to recall any ‘funny female comedians’

Gervais’ jokes regarding trans people and cancel culture have been met with criticism on Twitter, with viewers describing it as ‘bigoted hatred’

Jimmy Carr is slammed over Holocaust joke in Netflix comedy special His Dark Material 

Jimmy, 49, sparked criticism in February over a clip from his Netflix special His Dark Material, which saw him joke that the ‘thousands of gypsies killed by the Nazis’ was a ‘positive’ effect of the Holocaust.

In a widely shared clip from his Netflix show, Jimmy joked about the horror of the Holocaust and ‘six million Jewish lives being lost’.

As a punchline, he then made a disparaging remark about the deaths of thousands of gypsies at the hands of the Nazis.

‘But they never mention the thousands of gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives,’ Carr quipped to a laughing audience.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman branded the joke ‘unacceptable’, while Health Secretary Sajid Javid urged people to boycott the one-hour special.

Jewish comedian David Baddiel, 57, was also among swathes of other people to slam Jimmy over the gag.

David said: ‘You can obviously tell a Holocaust joke that is cruel and inhumane and mean spirited and racist.

‘Or you can tell one that targets the oppressors, or draws attention to the fundamental evil of it, or shines and light on the humanity of the victims.

‘It’s not the subject matter of the joke that counts, it’s the specifics of the individual joke. Clearly, Jimmy Carr’s was the former.’

Meanwhile, Conservative MP and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told BBC News that the gag was ‘abhorrent’.  

‘Like, the worst thing you can say today, get you cancelled on Twitter, death threats, the worst thing you can say today is, “Women don’t have penises”, right?

‘Now, no one saw that coming. You won’t find a ten-year-old tweet saying “Women don’t have penises.” You know why? We didn’t think we f***ing had to!’

And in another joke towards the end of the show in which he addresses self identity, Gervais says he supports trans rights – a remark met by cheers by a few members of the audience.

He adds: ‘Full disclosure. In real life, of course I support trans rights. I support all human rights and trans rights are human rights. 

‘Live your best life, use your preferred pronouns, be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway ladies, lose the c**k, that’s all I’m saying.’

The remarks have been met with ire from the usual suspects on social media.

One viewer said on Twitter: ‘Netflix, care to comment on the bigoted hatred? Platforming hate, be it racism, homophobia, sexism OR transphobia is wrong! 

‘So why air Ricky Gervais’ bigotry? Why encourage others to target trans people with these “jokes”. It’s NOT edgy, its NOT controversial, IT’S HATE. STOP!’

Another said: ‘Ricky Gervais has a new stand up show out on Netflix today. 5 minutes in and he’s making jokes about trans women attacking & raping people in public bathrooms. 

‘To him we exist only as a punchline, a threat, something less than human.’

A third added: ‘Ricky Gervais is a disgrace, he is going to cause hate crime and ultimately the death of Trans folk. Anyone who needs to vilify minorities to get a laugh is the most evil hateful soul and seriously needs mental help.’ 

The British comedian didn’t hold back in the programme and also joked about ‘taboo’ subjects including Hitler, famine and AIDS.

But despite the controversial topics mentioned in the special, which was filmed on his most recent tour, many fans rushed to Twitter to praise the comic.

One wrote: ‘I’m not even 10 minutes into #SuperNature and this is hands down the funniest comedy special I’ve ever seen.

But some viewers have rushed to Twitter to praise the comic, despite the controversial topics discussed in the Netflix comedy special

Another said on Twitter: ‘I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud as much at a stand up show as I am currently at SuperNature. Ricky Gervais, absolutely brilliant.’

A second wrote: The bloke never fails! Another masterpiece from Ricky Gervais with #SuperNature. Absolute National Treasure.’

A third added: ‘SuperNature was brilliant. Your comedic perspective is the perfect antidote to taking this crazy world too seriously.’

A fourth wrote: ‘Howled for the last 64 minutes. Tears rolling down my cheeks. It’s been worth waiting for! Just brilliant!’

It comes after Jimmy Carr faced criticism in February earlier this year after it emerged that he joked about the deaths of six millions Jews in the Holocaust.

The comedian received a barrage of uproar in over a clip from his Netflix special which saw him joke that the ‘thousands of gypsies killed by the Nazis’ was a ‘positive’ consequence of the Holocaust.

In the Netflix footage, the 8 Out of 10 Cats presenter said: ‘When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. No one ever talks about that because no one wants to talk about the positives.’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman branded the joke ‘unacceptable’, while Health Secretary Sajid Javid urged people to boycott the one-hour special. 

Jewish comedian David Baddiel, 57, was also among swathes of other people to slam Jimmy over the gag.

David said: ‘You can obviously tell a Holocaust joke that is cruel and inhumane and mean-spirited and racist.

‘Or you can tell one that targets the oppressors, or draws attention to the fundamental evil of it, or shines and light on the humanity of the victims.

‘It’s not the subject matter of the joke that counts, it’s the specifics of the individual joke. Clearly, Jimmy Carr’s was the former.’

Meanwhile, Conservative MP and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told BBC News that the gag was ‘abhorrent’. 

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Elliot Page describes his joy at being able to wear a suit to the Oscars

Elliot Page has opened up about his milestone appearance at this year’s Oscars, describing his ‘joy’ at being able to wear a tuxedo to the event – which marked his first Academy Awards since he came out as transgender in December 2020. 

The 35-year-old Umbrella Academy star put on a dapper display on the red carpet at this year’s glittering awards ceremony, donning a classic black tuxedo by Gucci, before taking to the stage to mark the 15th anniversary of his breakout movie Juno alongside co-stars Jennifer Garner and JK Simmons. 

But beyond marking the milestone of the movie that turned him into a Hollywood heavyweight, Page says his appearance at the Oscars also served as a significant personal step – describing it as a ‘special, wonderful, joyful moment’ during an Instagram Live interview to mark the start of the Trans Week of Visibility and Action on Monday.  

‘I feel the best I’ve ever felt like, like, I feel the way that I really actually never thought was possible,’ Page said of his decision to come out as transgender, adding: ‘Just the degree now that I can feel present, simply that I can feel present in a space without this incessant underlying anxiety or some sort of feeling like I need to flee.’

Speaking specifically about the Academy Awards, the actor continued: ‘All those things are really special, wonderful, joyful moments where you’re looking at a photograph and it’s really cool to see yourself for the first time — or the person you already saw but here they are, like, they’re f***ing emerging.’

Elliot Page has opened up about the ‘joy’ he felt at being able to wear a suit on the red carpet at this year’s Oscars – which marked his first time at the event since he came out as transgender

Speaking in an Instagram Live to mark the start of Trans Week of Visibility and Action (seen), Page, 35, described his Oscars experience as a ‘special, wonderful, joyful moment’

The actor donned a classic black tuxedo by Gucci for his appearance at the Oscars – where he marked the 15th anniversary of his cult 2007 movie Juno 

Page’s appearance at this year’s Oscars comes 14 years after he walked the red carpet as a Best Actress nominee, having earned the nod for his breakout role in the hit 2007 movie Juno. 

At the time, Page wore a vintage Jean-Louis Scherrer dress – however he revealed in an April 2021 Oprah that the experience of wearing dresses on the red carpet was so ‘painful’ for him, he couldn’t stand to look back at the images of himself at the awards ceremony. 

The actor, who previously stated that he had known he was a boy since he was a toddler, recalled to the TV host how, before puberty, being a ‘tomboy’ was ‘accepted’ — but upon reaching adolescence, it was less so, and having to wear girls’ clothing made him feel ‘ill’. 

He added that he ‘couldn’t express just the degree of pain that I was in’ while promoting Juno, which came out in December 2007, and in which he portrayed a pregnant teenager preparing to give her baby up for adoption.  

Page marked the 15th anniversary of the hit movie at this year’s Academy Awards, during which he praised the movie’s lasting impact on viewers, while recalling his own initial excitement at reading the script, which he said ‘had him hooked from the very first page’. 

‘Juno had me hooked from the very first page and was completely infused with [screenwriter] Diablo Cody’s distinctive voice. It was unlike anything I’d ever read before,’ he told the star-studded audience during the ceremony. 

Jennifer, 49, agreed, chiming in: ’15 years ago, we all experienced the exhilarating feeling of reading a wholly original screenplay that felt new and exciting.’ 

In an April 2021 interview with Oprah, Page described the ‘painful’ experience of having to wear dresses while promoting Juno – admitting he couldn’t stand to look at images of himself in the vintage Jean-Louis Scherrer dress he wore to the Oscars in 2008 (pictured)

 ‘I feel the best I’ve ever felt like, like, I feel the way that I really actually never thought was possible,’ Page said of his decision to come out as transgender

Meanwhile JK, who appeared as Juno’s father in the film, joked about the flick’s witty dialogue, noting: ‘There were definitely a couple phrases in there I’d never read before, like, “Your Eggo is preggo” and “pork swords” come to mind.’ 

The touching reunion comes almost 15 years after Juno premiered; the movie, which was released in December 2007, catapulted Page to global stardom. 

In the movie, the actor played the part of Juno MacGuff, a pregnant teenager who offers to give her baby up for adoption to a local couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring – played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer.  

The actor shot to fame while starring in the title role of Juno MacGuff, a pregnant teen who wants to give her baby up for adoption to Jennifer’s character, Vanessa Loring

JK played the part of Juno’s father, Mac, while the her stepmother, Bren, was portrayed by Allison Janney.

The role landed Page an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and saw him hailed as one of the brightest young stars in Hollywood. Major movie roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Inception — in which he starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio — followed.  

However, while the actor’s career was going from strength to strength, behind the scenes he was struggling with his gender identity – revealing to Oprah in 2021 that he eventually ‘lost it’ in 2010 after being presented with three dresses to wear to the Paris premiere of his movie Inception.  

He then ‘collapsed’ in what was likely a ‘panic attack’ when he arrived back from the after party. 

In his latest Instagram Live appearance, Page reflected back on the ‘challenges’ that he has gone through to reach a place where he now finally feels his ‘best’ – while shedding light on the severe struggles faced by so many transgender people, particularly those who do not have the same ‘privilege’ that he enjoys. 

‘I know the challenges I’ve gone through and I know how difficult it has been for me, how close I’ve come to… you know,’ he said. 

Page shared a touching moment on-stage when he reunited with his Juno co-stars, Jennifer Garner and JK Simmons, with all three paying tribute to the movie’s 15th anniversary 

Juno, which was released in December 2007, shot Elliot (seen in the movie with Jennifer and Jason Bateman) to global fame and even earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actress

‘I think about the enormous amount of privilege, the enormous amount of resources I’ve had absolutely, unequivocally saved my life — from therapy to my surgery, and so many things in between.’

Speaking about anti-trans bills in places like Arizona, Page warned of the severe and ‘painful’ toll that they will have on transgender youth, noting that he is continually working on ways to use his ‘platform’ in order to raise awareness and support for the community. 

‘We’re tired of having to say, “Oh no, I actually do exist,”‘ he said.  

Before arriving at the Oscars, Elliot took a moment to advocate for transgender rights on his Instagram account, sharing a series of posts about the Trans Week of Visibility + Action, a digital campaign to fight anti-trans legislation across the U.S.

In the two and a half years since he himself came out as trans, Elliot has become an outspoken advocate for transgender rights, using his own experiences to highlight the importance of support for trans youngsters the world over. 

During his interview with Oprah last year, he opening up about his ‘life-changing’ top surgery, explaining that the result of the procedure – which is typically performed on transgender men who have started undergoing hormone therapy – ‘completely transformed his life’. 

‘Getting out of the shower and the towel’s around your waist and you’re looking at yourself in the mirror and you’re just like, “There I am,”‘ he said, getting choked up. ‘And I’m not having the moment where I’m panicked. I’m not having all these little moments that used to be — just being in a T-shirt. It’s being able to touch my chest.’

He also stressed the need to demonstrate to others just how important this surgery can be — particularly ‘because there is such an attack on trans health care right now, when already there is such a lack of access or trans people who don’t even want to go to the doctor.’ 



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Caitlyn Jenner says Lia Thomas is not the ‘rightful winner’ of NCAA swimming championships

Former Olympic decathlete and gold medal-winner Caitlyn Jenner declared that transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was not the rightful winner of the women’s NCAA Championships, instead naming second place Emma Weyant as the true victor. 

Thomas, who competed for three years as a male collegiate swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania before beginning hormone therapy in 2019, stormed to the 500-yard freestyle title on Thursday with a time of 4:33:24 – more than a second-and-a-half ahead of Weyant.

Jenner last night said that recognizing University of Virginia swimmer and Olympian Weyant, 20, as the true winner was just ‘common sense’, after previously hitting out at the NCAA’s decision to let Thomas, 22, compete against biological females.

Replying to a tweet from Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who also refused to acknowledge Thomas’ victory, Jenner declared: ‘[Emma] is the rightful winner!

‘It’s not transphobic or anti-trans, it’s COMMON SENSE!’

Earlier this month, Jenner also said its ‘just not fair’ to allow biological boys to compete in women’s sports.

Jenner, who came out as a trans woman in 2015 and was previously named Bruce, won a gold medal and set a world record in the men’s decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games. 

DailyMail.com has attempted to contact Weyant for comment. 

Former Olympic decathlete and gold medal-winner Caitlyn Jenner declared that transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was not the rightful winner of the women’s NCAA Championships and recognised second place Emma Weyant as the true victor 

Thomas, who competed for three years from 2017-2019 as a male collegiate swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania before beginning hormone therapy, stormed to the women’s 500-yard freestyle NCAA title on Thursday with a time of 4:33:24 – more than a second-and-a-half ahead of Weyant 

University of Virginia swimmer Emma Weyant is hailed as a heroine on social media after coming second in NCAA championships to controversial trans rival Lia Thomas

Weyant beams as she is applauded for her second place in Thursday’s race

Weyant was met with wild applause as she accepted her second-place medal on Thursday, and social media blew up with claims that she was the ‘real winner.’ 

Just moments later Thomas, accepting her first-place honors for the victory, was met with near silence. 

Now, in Florida – Weyant’s home state – she will be recognized as the first-place winner, according to governor DeSantis, who wrote that the ‘accomplished woman’ logged the ‘fastest time among all women swimmers.’ 

In an official proclamation announcing Weyant as the NCAA championship winner, he said: ‘A male identifying as a woman was allowed to compete in and was declared the winner of the race by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Emma was determined to have come in second place.’ 

He also said the NCAA’s ‘actions served to erode opportunities for women athletes and perpetuate a fraud against women athletes as well as the public at large,’ arguing that Thomas’ ‘biological sex’ means the swimmer has an inherent advantage over the competition.  

‘Women have fought for decades to have equal opportunities in athletics, and it is wrong to allow ideology to erode these opportunities as is happening in other states, and the preservation of women-specific athletics teams or sports is necessary to promote equality of athletic opportunities,’ DeSantis said in the proclamation. 

Last year, Florida signed a bill into law called The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which became effective on the first day of Pride month, that banned trans-female athletes from competing in public high school and college sports, WFTS reported at the time. 

The bill recognized athletes’ genders based on the biological sex that is listed on their birth certificate.  

‘She’s been a superstar her whole career,’ DeSantis said at a press conference on Tuesday, ahead of signing the proclamation. 

‘To compete at that level is very, very difficult. And you don’t just roll out of bed and do it. That takes grit. That takes determination.’

University of Virginia swimmer Emma Weyant, 20, (pictured at left with her Olympic silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) has been officially recognized as the first-place winner of the NCAA championship 500-yard freestyle in her home state of Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis (right) signed a proclamation on Tuesday 

DeSantis said the NCAA was putting ‘ideology over biology’ in his proclaimed (pictured) 

‘She had the fastest time of any woman in college athletics. Now the NCAA is basically taking efforts to destroy women’s athletics. They’re trying to undermine the integrity of the competition, crowning somebody else the women’s champion, and we think that’s wrong,’ 

The Florida governor went on to say that the NCAA was putting ‘ideology over biology’ and that he thought ‘some people are just afraid to speak out.’ 

‘In Florida, we’re going to try to be very clear to do things like that when they try to undermine the integrity of competition, when they try to counteract the ability of women to realize their dreams. We’re going to speak out about that,’ he said at a press conference. 

Weyant has not publicly commented on Thomas’ win or DeSantis’ proclamation. 

Thomas meanwhile became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship. 

Despite enduring some boos while she received her trophy on Thursday, the controversial swimmer said she tries to ‘ignore’ the backlash.

‘I try to ignore it as much as I can, I try to focus on my swimming what I need to do to get ready for my races and I just try to block out everything else,’ said Thomas after the race, when asked by ESPN about the response. 

‘It means the world to be here, to be with two of my best friends and teammates and be able to compete.’ 

The UPenn swimmer did not place on the podium again for any of her other races. 

Thomas was competing under new NCAA rules that required her to complete a year of testosterone suppressants – a process that started when she began to transition during the pandemic. 

However, the rules will likely change come next season – with transgender females having to undergo three years of testosterone suppression in order to compete against biological women. 

The NCAA ruled it would be wrong to implement the new rules mid-season, thus allowing Thomas to complete her final season at UPenn.

Reka Gyorgy, a fifth year senior at Virginia Tech and former Hungarian Olympian, lost her spot in the NCAA finals due to Thomas’ inclusion

Hungarian-born swimmer Reka Gyorgy penned a letter to the NCAA arguing that although she is convinced Thomas is ‘no difference than me or any other D1 swimmer’ who was striving to be the best in her field, allowing her to compete is ‘disrespectful’ to biologically female swimmers 

Parents and fellow swimmers have long spoken out about their disagreement with Thomas competing at all after she competed as a male for the first three years of her collegiate career. 

The swimmer, who went by Will before transitioning, was ranked in the low 400s in men’s swimming, but skyrocketed to first on the women’s side. 

Meanwhile, a Virginia Tech swimmer who claimed she was bumped out of the NCAA finals by Thomas has publicly blasted the collegiate sports authority for letting the controversial athlete compete in the women’s division. 

Hungarian-born swimmer Reka Gyorgy penned a letter to the NCAA arguing that although she is convinced Thomas is ‘no different than me or any other D1 swimmer’ who was striving to be the best in her field, allowing her to compete is ‘disrespectful’ to biologically female swimmers. 

She wrote: ‘I swam the 500 free at NCAA’s on March 17 2022, where I got 17th, which means I didn’t make it back to the finals and was first alternative. I’m a 5th year senior, I have been top 16 and top 8 before and I know how much of a privilege it is to make finals at a meet this big.

‘This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete. I know you could say I had the opportunity to swim faster and make the top 16, but this situation makes it a bit different and I can’t help but be angry or sad.’

‘It hurts me, my team and the other women in the pool. One spot was taken away from the girl who got 9th in the 500 free and didn’t make it back to the A final preventing her from being all American.’

‘Every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot away from biological females throughout the meet.’ 

The Hungarian Olympian spoke kindly of Thomas and her efforts, but lashed the NCAA for putting both of them in what she said was an untenable position.

Gyorgy said: ‘She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. She has sacrificed family vacations and holidays for a competition. She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be,’ Gyorgy, 25, wrote. 

‘She is doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right. On the other hand, I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women.’ 

Throughout the NCAA competition, Thomas has been a massive topic of conversation, prompting comments from celebrity athletes like tennis legend Martina Navratilova, as well as Jenner.

In an interview with Fox News last week, Jenner slammed the NCAA directly for allowing the trans athlete to compete. 

Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, 72, (left) slammed the NCAA for ‘not being tough enough’ with the rules and allowing the UPenn swimmer to compete. ‘Just being on testosterone depressants for a year or two, whatever the rules are now, they keep changing, obviously, it is not enough.’ Martina Navratilova, who is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, also spoke out against Thomas being allowed to compete as an equal against women

Bruce Jenner of the USA celebrates during his record setting performance in the decathlon in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada

Although she said she had ‘no problem’ with Thomas herself, Jenner also said the 22-year-old ‘was taking it easy’ in the 500-yard race in order to not break Katie Ledecky’s record – which Thomas was nine seconds short of. 

Earlier this month, Jenner also said its ‘just not fair’ to allow biological boys to compete in women’s sports.   

‘If Lia Thomas wins, there should be an asterisk next to her name’: Tennis icon Martina Navratilova blasts NCAA as trans swimmer Lia Thomas smashes her competition 

 Martina Navratilova has called for transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to have an asterisk by her name when she wins women’s races, arguing that the 22-year-old athlete’s racing against biological females is unfair and should be noted.

Navratilova, widely considered to be among the world’s greatest ever tennis players, spoke out amid Thomas’s historic victory on Thursday night at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in Georgia.

 ‘It’s not about excluding transgender women from winning ever,’ the 65-year-old said. ‘But it is about not allowing them to win when they were not anywhere near winning as men.’

 ‘You try to keep it as close as possible to what it would had been, were you born in the female biological body in the first place,’ she said.

‘And even saying that, people take exception to – biological female. People don’t even want to use those words.

‘I don’t know what else to say. Other than that.’

‘I don’t think biological boys should compete in women’s sports – we have to protect women’s sports,’ Caitlyn said. ‘That’s the bottom line.’ 

Pink News slammed the reality TV star, calling her ‘anti-trans’ for her rhetoric on the UPenn swimmer. 

However, Jenner didn’t shy away from the controversy and responded back on Twitter, writing: ‘No, I just had the balls to stand up for women and girls in sports,’ she wrote. 

Another high-profile athlete Martina Navratilova, who is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, spoke out amid Thomas’s historic victory on Thursday. 

She suggested transgender women who are competing against biological women should have an asterisk next to their wins. 

‘It’s not about excluding transgender women from winning ever,’ the 65-year-old said. ‘But it is about not allowing them to win when they were not anywhere near winning as men.’

‘You try to keep it as close as possible to what it would had been, were you born in the female biological body in the first place,’ she said.

‘And even saying that, people take exception to – biological female. People don’t even want to use those words.

‘I don’t know what else to say. Other than that.’

On Friday, a British campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen, who lobbies against ‘woke’ policies on transgender people, went viral after a row in the stands during Thomas’ swimming competition, where she told a woke spectator that the 22-year-old is ‘not a woman.’ 

Keen, who was in the stands, can be heard telling a male spectator: ‘Is he the same as the other girls in the pool?’

The man replies: ‘Every body is different.’

Keen says: ‘No. Are you saying he doesn’t have male organs? I’m a woman – that is not a woman. Do you have ovaries? I’m a woman, and that is not a woman.’

The man counters: ‘Let me ask you, are you a biologist?’

Keen replied: ‘Oh my God – don’t be ridiculous. I’m not a vet, but I know what a dog is. You rely on stupid arguments, because you don’t have an argument.’ 

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Lia Thomas finishes 8th in 100-yard freestyle, final race of collegiate swimming career 

Transgender UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas finished in eighth place in the 100-yard freestyle  race at the NCAA Division I women’s championships, making for a disappointing final race of her controversial college swimming career. 

Thomas, 22, swam 48.18 seconds on Saturday night, less than a second slower than her qualifying time of 47.37 seconds, which was a personal best. 

She had come in fourth place in the preliminary race, only 0.10 seconds behind third-place University of Alabama swimmer Morgan Scott and one second behind first-place University of Virginia swimmer Gretchen Walsh.

Walsh, a freshman, came in first on Saturday night’s race, her first individual NCAA championship.    

As a fifth-year senior, Thomas came into the event with the 10th fastest record, which she set at the Ivy League Championships in February.  

Thomas has endured months of backlash for having what critics say is an unfair advantage. The UPenn swimmer was met with cheers, boos and notable silence during the championships races.  

After the race, Thomas celebrated alongside Yale swimmer Iszac Henig, who identifies as a transgender man but has not started hormone therapy, making him eligible to compete in the women’s race. Henig tied for fifth.

Both swimmers wrote ‘Let trans kids play’ on their arms during Saturday’s races.   

Lia Thomas, 22, (pictured on Saturday) swam 48.18 seconds – finishing in eighth place in the 100-yard freestyle race at the NCAA Division I women’s championships, the final race of her collegiate swimming career

Saturday’s race marks the end of Thomas’ swimming with the University of Pennsylvania 

Thomas, in the sixth row, swam less than a second slower than her qualifying time of 47.37 seconds, which was a personal best she reached earlier on Saturday

Thomas’ ranks in the NCAA Championships 

500y prelims – 1st

500-yard finals – 1st 

200m prelims – 2nd

200m finals –  5th

100y prelims – 4th

100y finals – 8th 

Source: NCAA

Hening, who said that he and Lia ‘are friends’ told ESPN that the message on the athlete’s arms was to stand in solidarity with trans athletes at all sporting levels. 

 ‘We’re not allowed to have anything on our clothes, but the rules don’t say anything about our skin,’ he said. ‘So I took the platform I was hoping to have to say that trans athletes are just like any other athlete.’ 

Thomas did not speak to the media following Saturday night’s race.  

Thomas has had parents and Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, 72, among other former professional athletes such as tennis great Martina Navratilova, weighing in with their thoughts about her ability to compete in the NCAA championships. 

The controversial swimmer also pulled out second place in the 200m preliminary race, but only pulled fifth in the finals. 

Throughout most of the season, Thomas has remained mum, rarely speaking about the mass amounts of criticism thrown her way. On Thursday, however, after winning first place, she told ESPN that she tries to ‘ignore’ the brutal commentary. 

‘I try to ignore it as much as I can, I try to focus on my swimming, what I need to do to get ready for my races, and I just try to block out everything else,’ she said. 

‘It means the world to be here, to be with two of my best friend and teammates and be able to compete.’ 

An activist also claimed Thomas was ‘not a woman’ from the poolside on Friday. 

The UPenn swimmer was the first transgender athlete to win a Division I title after pulling in first in the 500-yard, but when the young swimmer stood on top of the podium, she was met with near-silence, while second-place winner University of Virginia swimmer Emma Weyant was met with wild applause and many deeming her the ‘real’ winner. 

Thomas is competing within the rules, as she has completed a year of testosterone suppressants, as she starting to transition during the pandemic. 

However, the rules will more than likely change come next season, where transgender females will have to undergo three years of suppressing testosterone in order to compete against biological women. 

The NCAA ruled it would be wrong to implement the new rules mid-season, thus allowing Thomas to complete her final season. 

Jenner slammed the NCAA for allowing the college student to compete. 

Although she said she had ‘no problem’ with Thomas herself, Jenner said the 22-year-old ‘was taking it easy’ in the 500-yard race in order to not break Katie Ledecky’s record – which Thomas is nine seconds short of. 

Earlier this month, Jenner also said its ‘just not fair’ to allow biological boys to compete in women’s sports.   

Thomas (above) has been met with harsh criticism since the start of the competition, with several high-profile people, such as transgender Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, 72 – who did not transition until 2015 – and tennis star Martina Navratilova, 65, speaking out against Thomas’ eligibility to compete against biological women. Thomas is, however, competing within the current NCAA rule, which will change after this season 

Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, 72, (left) slammed the NCAA for ‘not being tough enough’ with the rules and allowing the UPenn swimmer to compete. ‘Just being on testosterone depressants for a year or two, whatever the rules are now, they keep changing, obviously, it is not enough.’ Martina Navratilova, who is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, spoke out against Thomas being allowed to compete as an equal against women

‘I don’t think biological boys should compete in women’s sports – we have to protect women’s sports,’ Caitlyn said. ‘That’s the bottom line.’ 

Pink News slammed the reality TV star, calling her ‘anti-trans’ for her rhetoric on the UPenn swimmer. 

However, Jenner didn’t shy away from the controversy and responded back on Twitter, writing: ‘No, I just had the balls to stand up for women and girls in sports,’ she wrote. 

Another high-profile athlete Martina Navratilova, who is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, spoke out amid Thomas’s historic victory on Thursday. She suggested transgender women who are competing against biological women should have an asterisk next to their wins. 

‘It’s not about excluding transgender women from winning ever,’ the 65-year-old said. ‘But it is about not allowing them to win when they were not anywhere near winning as men.’

‘You try to keep it as close as possible to what it would had been, were you born in the female biological body in the first place,’ she said.

‘And even saying that, people take exception to – biological female. People don’t even want to use those words.

‘I don’t know what else to say. Other than that.’

On Friday, a British campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen, who lobbies against ‘woke’ policies on transgender people, went viral after a row in the stands during Thomas’ swimming competition, where she told a woke spectator that the 22-year-ld is ‘not a woman.’ 

Keen, who was in the stands, can be heard telling a male spectator: ‘Is he the same as the other girls in the pool?’

Signs and rowdy spectators have been seen at the competition demoting Thomas’ wins and podium placements. A woman was seen holding a ‘say no to males competing as females’ sign at the competition on Friday. Also on Friday, British activist Kellie-Jay Keen got in a row with another spectator and said Thomas was ‘not a woman’ 

The man replies: ‘Every body is different.’

Keen says: ‘No. Are you saying he doesn’t have male organs? I’m a woman – that is not a woman. Do you have ovaries? I’m a woman, and that is not a woman.’

The man counters: ‘Let me ask you, are you a biologist?’

Keen replied: ‘Oh my God – don’t be ridiculous. I’m not a vet, but I know what a dog is. You rely on stupid arguments, because you don’t have an argument.’

Parents have long spoken out about their disagreement with Thomas competing at all, as the swimmer competed as a male for the first three years of collegiate swimming. 

The swimmer, who went by Will before transition, was ranked in the low 400s in men’s swimming, but had skyrocketed to first in women’s. 

THE RULES ON TRANSGENDER ATHLETES AND WHEN THEY CAN COMPETE FOR GENDER THEY ARE SWITCHING TO 

Lia Thomas started taking hormone therapy while she was still competing as a male back in May 2019. 

Under USA Swimming rules, athletes had to have recorded low levels of testosterone for 36 months to compete in the female category. 

That meant that Thomas didn’t qualify for the NCAA championship, if they followed USA Swimming rules – as they originally said they would.  

But the NCAA said that she would be allowed to compete because they were refusing to adopt the threshold this year. 

Last month, the NCAA committee said: ‘The subcommittee decided implementing additional changes at this time could have unfair and potentially detrimental impacts on schools and student-athletes intending to compete in 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships.’ 

It is unclear what they will do next year, however.  



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Adele’s snub to ‘virtue-signalling’ record label chiefs and ‘woke’ LA

Adele is today at the centre of an extraordinary row between transgender rights activists and feminists after she took a stand against the ultra-woke ‘genderless’ Brit Awards by declaring: ‘I love being a woman’.

Her speech while collecting Artist of the Year at the 02 Arena in London sparked uproarious cheers from the audience and viewers at home took to social media to say: ‘Thank GOD she has said it’.

The Brits axed separate male and female prizes for best solo and best international acts in 2022 to avoid upsetting several artists, including former Brit winner Sam Smith, who identifies as non-binary. 

Collecting the award Adele said: ‘I understand why the name of this award has changed. But I really love being a woman and being a female artist I do I’m really proud of us’.

And some Adele fans have already said she offended non-binary people and branded her a TERF – a derogatory term for a feminist who excludes the rights of transgender women also thrown at the singer’s friend JK Rowling. 

One LGBTQ activist said: ‘Please, no, ADELE can’t be a TERF. That last comment, though ambiguous, could be perceived as TERF-Y. Please no’. Another critic said: ‘I love Adele but that ‘woman’ comment seemed like a bit of a dig, non binary artists deserve better’. 

But women’s rights groups have praised her stance. A spokesman for charity Safeguard Women & Girls said: ‘Yes, women are part of society, 50% actually. @Adele you make every woman I know proud. You’re an inspiration to many of what can be achieved’.

Journalist and women’s rights activist Inna Shevchenko said: ‘Welcome to the Brave Inclusive New World: Now saying “I really love being a woman, I really love being a female artist” is enough to be labeled as a Terf and a transphobe’.

While feminist Victoria Smith tweeted: ‘It’s really nice to hear someone saying she loves being a woman. I increasingly think a lot of what we see as generational tension in feminism comes down to a form of self-hate – “I’m ashamed of being female, I don’t want to become *that*”.’

Despite the furore, publicists who have represented some of the world’s biggest stars told MailOnline that Adele’s stance on the genderless Brit Award will be good for her career – branding her ‘musical Teflon’.

Adele’s declaration that she ‘loves being a woman’ has caused a row over trans rights

Dazzling: Adele dazzled the audience with an incredible performance of her single I Drink Wine during the night

Adele’s appearance at the Brits is her first for five years  – and is her first since becoming the best selling artist in the world

PR guru and crisis management expert Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that the star may have upset her record label bosses – but they have no power to ‘cancel’ her while she continues to be the world’s top selling artist. 

Has Adele got engaged to her sports agent boyfriend? 

What’s that? Adele was seen flashing a diamond ring on her wedding finger – sparking speculation she was engaged to Rich Paul

Glitz: The pear-shaped diamond certainly stood out on her hand as she posed up a storm

Making her first appearance since cancelling her US shows, she drew attention to a giant pear-shaped diamond ring, prompting speculation that she was engaged – a week after shrugging off rumours of a rift with her sports agent boyfriend Rich Paul. 

Her appearance marked five years since her last Brits performance, and 14 years since she won her first Brit – the Critics’ Choice Award aged 19 in 2008. 

However, her comments will present a ‘risk’ for Adele, especially as she lives in the ‘woke capital’ of the world, Los Angeles.

He said Adele was ‘channeling authenticity’ in London last night, and proving she is a ‘giant personality’ who is ‘not a vanilla effigy pouring out messages to suit a woke agenda’. 

‘There is a mass of posturing in the corporate world of pop music. Just like a slew of multi-national conglomerates rushing to make the right noise that most people see as virtue signalling’, the PR expert said.

‘It was pleasing to see Adele channeling authenticity – true to her brand, Adele is a giant personality. She is a leading light proving you don’t have to lose your much loved status by reflecting what you believe in. Fans and non fans want to engage with a personality not a vanilla effigy pouring out messages to suit a woke agenda’.

With some critics calling on her to apologise, Mr Borkowski said her success should allow her to resist, no matter the pressure due to the modern cancel culture.

‘Adele has power whilst she continues to deliver the hits. She takes the lead and she is an influencer’, he said, adding: ‘High flying fame is difficult to navigate – so yes risks are all around. For Adele its unrelenting she is judged constantly on the now. Maintaining positive PR, when you are global star, is akin to running a gruelling marathon daily. Adele seems a sensitive soul so there is always a danger she could get sucked into a battle that will prove exhausting. There is a curse being a national treasure’. 

Gary Farrow, who worked with Elton John, Wham, George Michael, David Bowie amd Paul Young, said that Adele should be praised for he honesty, having been given an award she had not chosen to name herself.

He added that he believed that she will have been ’embarrassed’ by the cancellation of her Las Vegas residency, but won’t be damaged by telling the world she ‘loves being a female artist’ – including in ultra-woke California.

He said: ‘She never renamed the award – she just found herself in it. Irrelevant of where she lives and what’s happened recently, you only have to see her performance to realise she has class. She is the nearest thing we’ve had to Sinatra’.

Mr Farrow said he doesn’t believe Adele will be forced to apologise or clarify her remarks, dubbing her ‘musical Teflon’. 

Adele was branded a TERF by some critics after her speech. Supporters thanks her for telling the ‘TRUTH’

‘I’m gutted’: Adele previously revealed in a tearful video that she had been forced to postpone her massively popular upcoming Las Vegas residency due to COVID-19 cases among crew members – and claims she wasn’t happy with the set up

The singer left fans devastated after cancelling her Las Vegas residency at the 11th hour last month – and leaving many of them massively out of pocket due to flights and accommodation they had booked.

But Adele was back in the limelight last night as she triumphed with a triple win at the Brit Awards.

The London-born singer scooped the coveted titles of Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for 30 and Song of the Year for comeback single Easy On Me at a newly gender-neutral ceremony dominated by women at the capital’s O2 Arena.

Commenting on how male and female categories were scrapped, she said: ‘I know this category has changed but I really love being a woman and a female artist.’

Adele was in tears as she dedicated the album award to her son Angelo, nine, and ex-husband Simon Konecki. She said: ‘This was all of our journeys. Not just mine.

‘My son has been so gracious. So gracious and kind and patient with me over the last couple of years. It is for him.’

Adele, 33, arrived in a custom black gown by Giorgio Armani Prive, with a spotted collar that tied into a bow and train. Making her first appearance since cancelling her US shows, she drew attention to a giant pear-shaped diamond ring, prompting speculation that she was engaged – a week after shrugging off rumours of a rift with her sports agent boyfriend Rich Paul.

Her appearance marked five years since her last Brits performance, and 14 years since she won her first Brit aged 19. Other winners included female-fronted band Wolf Alice, Dua Lipa and Becky Hill.

Ed Sheeran, 30, who was wearing a striking cobalt blue suit, failed to win in the four nominations he received against Adele. But he was honoured with the new Songwriter of the Year award.

BRIT AWARDS 2022: WINNERS

ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

Adele – WINNER 

Dave

Ed Sheeran

Little Simz

Sam Fender

GROUP

Coldplay

D-Block Europe

Little Mix

London Grammar

Wolf Alice – WINNER

BRITs RISING STAR 

Holly Humberstone – WINNER!

Bree Runway

Lola Young

SONG OF THE YEAR

A1 & J1 – Latest Trends

Adele – Easy On Me – WINNER 

Anne-Marie/KSI/Digital Farm Animals – Don’t Play

Becky Hill & David Guetta – Remember

Central Cee – Obsessed With You

Dave ft. Stormzy – Clash

Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits

Elton John & Dua Lipa – Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)

Glass Animals – Heat Waves

Joel Corry/Raye/David Guetta – Bed

KSI – Holiday

Nathan Evans/220Kid/Billen Red – Wellerman

Riton x Nightcrawlers ft. Mufasa & Hypeman – Friday

Tion Wayne & Russ Millions – Body

Tom Grennan – Little Bit Of Love

BEST NEW ARTIST

Joy Crookes

Central Cee

Self Esteem

Griff

Little Simz-WINNER

MASTERCARD ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Adele – 30- WINNER

Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together

Ed Sheeran – =

Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under

POP, R&B

Adele

Dua Lipa – WINNER

Ed Sheeran

Griff

Joy Crookes

DANCE

Becky Hill- WINNER

Calvin Harris

Fred

Joel Corry

Raye

ROCK, ALTERNATIVE

Coldplay

Glass Animals

Sam Fender – WINNER

Tom Grennan

Wolf Alice

HIP-HOP, GRIME, RAP 

AJ Tracey

Central Cee

Dave- WINNER

Ghetts

Little Simz

INTERNATIONAL ARTIST 

Billie Eilish- WINNER

Doja Cat

Lil Nas X

Olivia Rodrigo

Taylor Swift

INTERNATIONAL GROUP

ABBA

BTS

Måneskin

Silk Sonic/Bruno Mars/Anderson .Paak – WINNER 

The War On Drugs

BEST INTERNATIONAL SONG

ATB / Topic / A7S – Your Love (9PM)

Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever

Ckay – Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)

Doja Cat ft SZA – Kiss Me More

Drake ft Lil Baby – Girls Want Girls

Galantis, David Guetta & Little Mix – Heartbreak Anthem

Jonasu – Black Magic

Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – Stay

Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

Lil TJ & 6lack – Calling My Phone

Maneskin – I Wanna Be Your Slave

Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4U – WINNER 

Polo G – Rapstar

Tiesto – The Business

The Weeknd – Save Your Tears

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR 

Inflo – WINNER 

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR  

Ed Sheeran – WINNER 

 

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Go easy… on my feet! Adele is worlds away from her BRITs red carpet glam as she swaps designer heels for fluffy slippers and kicks back with cigarettes ahead of McDonald’s treat

Despite wowing with her glamorous looks on the red carpet, Adele showed she was more akin to the masses following a night out, as she ditched her heels for a pair of slippers to head home from the 2022 BRIT Awards on Tuesday.

The hitmaker, who scooped three gongs including the coveted Album Of The Year, was seen leaving the star-studded ceremony in London’s O2 Arena with a box of cigarettes nearby, presumably heading to McDonalds to celebrate her win before heading back to her flat in the capital.

During her acceptance speech, Adele admitted she had no plans to attend any of the awards’ lavish after parties despite her triple victory, instead planning to grab a takeaway before having an early night.

Someone like you! Adele showed she was more akin to the masses following a night out, as she ditched her heels for a pair of slippers (circled far right) to head home from the 2022 BRIT Awards on Tuesday

Time for bed? The hitmaker, who scooped three gongs including the coveted Album Of Year, was seen leaving the star-studded ceremony in London’s O2 Arena with a box of cigarettes nearby (right) after ditching her heels for slippers (left)

Following her much-anticipated appearance at the awards, Adele made a low-key exit in her eye-catching black velvet minidress, having ditched her stilettos for comfy slippers.

The hitmaker sipped from a plastic cup while focusing on her phone as the car drove away, following her long-awaited appearance at the ceremony.

Ahead of the evening, Adele was asked whether she had any plans to attend an afterparty, but she stated: ‘I’m going back to my flat with McDonalds and a bottle of wine.’

Relaxed: After a night of glamour and awards sparkle, Adele jumped into a waiting car outside London’s O2 Arena, no doubt to grab a McDonalds after she revealed her post-awards plans on the red carpet

Ready for bed? After a show-stopping evening, Adele shunned the traditional afterparties, admitting on the red carpet: ‘I’m going back to my flat with McDonalds and a bottle of wine’

It was a successful night for the star who took home the Best Song Award for Easy On Me, Album Of The Year for 30 and the Artist Of The Year award.

She beat hotly-tipped contender Ed Sheeran in the Artist Of The Year category – which now includes artists of all genders – after they both released long-awaited albums around the same time last year.

During her acceptance speech, Adele told the audience: ‘I understand this award has changed but I love being a female artist!’, as she referenced the changes the awards board had made to the ceremony.  

Let the good times roll: And she wasn’t the only star seen making an exit, with the likes of Courteney Cox and her beau Johnny McDaid among the partygoers heading home following the after parties

Party time: The likes of Becky Hill and Laura Whitmore led the hordes of partygoers heading home from various afterparties in the early hours after toasting another successful awards show

Crikey: One of Becky’s pal was even seen tugging down her dress to show off her assets after their boozy celebrations 

And she wasn’t the only star seen making a bleary-eyed exit following the BRITs, with the likes of Courteney Cox, Becky Hill and Laura Whitmore led the hordes of partygoers heading home from various afterparties in the early hours after toasting another successful awards show.  

Courteney, 57, seemed in high spirits as she left the O2 Arena alongside boyfriend Johnny McDaid after the pair took to the stage during the ceremony to present an award. 

The actress wrapped up warm as she draped a jacket over her black silk long-sleeved shirt that she had paired with a matching skirt. 

Meanwhile, Becky, 27, was clearly in the mood to celebrate after she scooped her first BRIT Award for for Best Dance Act. 

Quick change: Becky swapped her emerald gown for a white sequin mini dress with a feathered hem 

Stamina: While she seemed rather worse for wear as she left the O2, Becky wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet and headed to another bash at The Box nightclub

Fun times: Becky was having the time of her life as she larked around with pals outside of the venue 

A night to remember: She was joined on the evening by her husband Iain, with the duo catching a taxi home together

The Lose Control singer was seen puffing on a cigarette as she staggered into the back of a taxi alongside her friends – who put on a very raucous display for the cameras – with one pal even tugging down her dress to show off her assets. 

Becky wowed in a sequin emerald mini dress which showed off her toned and tanned pins and featured stunning embellishment with glittery and chiffon sections.

While she seemed rather worse for wear as she left the O2, Becky wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet, later changing into a white sequin mini dress with a feathered hem as she headed to another bash at The Box nightclub. 

Laura Whitmore appeared all partied out as she staggered out of the venue with her husband Iain Stirling’s jacket draped over her.  

Wild night: Bleary-eyed Emily Atack clambered into the back of a taxi with Strictly’s Graziano Di Prima, Vick Hope and Donna Preston as she left the raucous BRITs O2 afterparty

On the move: The actress, 32, was in high spirits as she sidled up to Strictly Come Dancing professional Graziano after clambering into the back of a black taxi

Loving life: Also living it up on the night was The Saturdays star Mollie, who put on a very animated display as she bounded out of the O2 Arena alongside her pals after a night of partying

All aboard the party bus! Mollie was seen heading out of the venue on a London tour bus that picked up partygoers 

Say cheese! Raye wowed in an amber thigh-split gown as she joined her pals on the party bus 

Having fun? Mo Farah seemed to be having the time of his life in the taxi home 

The Love Island host, 36, cut a glamorous figure in a black velvet mini dress, which featured a cut out section across her midriff and bejewelled detailing all over.

The thigh-grazing style highlighted her long toned legs, which she further elongated with a pair of towering black strappy heels.

She was joined on the evening by her husband Iain, with the duo catching a taxi home together.  

Also living it up on the night was The Saturdays star Mollie, who put on a very animated display as she bounded out of the O2 Arena alongside her pals after a night of partying. 

Keeping hydrated: Griff wasn’t ready to stop the party as she sat in the back of her taxi with a large glass of wine 

Keeping it casual: Vicky McClure donned colourful trainers and a patterned silk blouse as she joined a friend at the Shoreditch House afterparty 

Had a bit too much? Geordie Shore’s Sophie Kasaei threw her middle finger up at photographers while leaving 

The singer, 34, was unmissable as she dazzled in a bright yellow halter neck dress with key hole detail and bows on the front.  

Emily Atack also looked in high spirits as she left the O2 afterparty and sidled up to Strictly Come Dancing professional Graziano Di Prima after clambering into the back of a black taxi. 

The pair were joined by pals including Vick Hope and Donna Preston as they headed home after a wild night of partying.

Pour it up: Wolf Alice celebrated their Group Of The Year award by toting a bottle of champagne 

Loving life: Sam Fender threw an afterparty with his pals at Four Quarters in Peckham after scooping his award

Congrats! Sam wielded his BRIT award after he and his band  took home the trophy for Best Rock/Alternative

Despite much anticipation around Adele’s performance, many fans were left unimpressed, as it came just weeks after she cancelled her Las Vegas residency. 

Her appearance came as she continues to face backlash for leaving fans thousands of pounds out of pocket when she pulled the plug on her Stateside shows with just 24 hours notice. 

Several fans took to social media to react to Adele’s performance at the awards show, with one writing: ‘I wonder if they’re showing this Adele #Brits performance in Las Vegas? Too soon?’ 

Another said: ‘You playing Vegas now? Band seem OK on the Brits! @Adele’. 

Another fan wrote: ‘So Adele can’t manage her concerts in Vegas, which by the way cost the earth, but she can turn up to the Brits where she’s won awards and is basically headlining the show’.  

One added: ‘No hate to Adele but how can she cancel her Vegas residency and then come and perform at the Brits’. 

Adele did not address criticism over her cancelled Vegas residency during the awards show.   

Adele beat hotly-tipped contender Ed Sheeran in the Artist Of The Year category – which now includes artists of all genders – after they both released long-awaited albums around the same time last year.

During her acceptance speech, Adele told the audience: ‘I understand this award has changed but I love being a female artist!’, as she referenced the changes the awards board had made to the ceremony. 

The BRIT Awards sparked controversy last year after ditching the traditional male and female categories and switching to gender-neutral gongs for the first time in its history, causing naysayers to brand the event ‘woke’. 

Organisers divided opinion and some were left outraged by the decision to switch to gender-neutral gongs for the first time in its history, in calls led by non-binary singer Sam Smith.

Bosses claimed the move was in a bid ‘to be as inclusive and as relevant as possible’ and allowed people to enter who do not identify as a man or woman.

But fans at the time blasted the change as ‘woke drivel’ at the time, with many calling for a boycott.

Reaction: Several fans took to social media to react to Adele’s performance at the awards show, with one writing: ‘I wonder if they’re showing this Adele #Brits performance in Las Vegas? Too soon?’

During the evening, Adele – who arrived at the ceremony on the red carpet wearing a huge diamond ring on her engagement finger – swept the board following her return to the BRITs, where she took home gongs in all three categories that she was nominated in.

During her speech for her third award, for Best Album, Adele emotionally decidated the gong to her son Angelo and her ex-husband Simon.

Tearful Adele, said: ‘Thank you, again the company I’m in really is phenomenal. Thanks to everyone I work with. But I want to dedicate this to my son. And his dad. Because it’s about them. I’m really proud of myself for sticking to my guns and putting out something so personal. It’s not something people do anymore.’

‘My son has been so gracious and patient with me over recent years. So it’s for him.’

Winner: It was a successful night for the star who took home the Best Song Award for Easy On Me, Album Of The Year for 30 and the Artist Of The Year award

Back home: Adele – who has been hiding out at boyfriend Rich Paul’s home in recent weeks – touched down at Heathrow on the weekend

Also thanking her producer she said: ‘Someone who was integral to this album is producer of the year Inflo. He also works with Little Simz. He helped me so much.’ 

Along with Adele, there were also performances by Ed Sheeran, Anne-Marie, Liam Gallagher, Dave, Little Simz, and this year’s Rising Star award winner, Holly Humberstone. 

Adele – who has been hiding out at boyfriend Rich Paul’s home in recent weeks – touched down at Heathrow on the weekend and was seen making her way into the airport’s Windsor Suite. 

Rich, 40, was not seen at the airport after the sports agent found himself wrapped up into the controversy over the Vegas residency, which Adele cancelled just a day before she was supposed to begin performing last month.

A source at the rehearsals told Page Six late that the singer often made sobbing calls to her boyfriend that interrupted rehearsals.

‘Adele’s been crying and couldn’t get through a single full rehearsal for the past month,’ said the source, who was connected to the Caesars Palace management team. ‘Just constantly on the phone with Rich… loudly shouting and sobbing.’

They added: ‘She has barely rehearsed because she is constantly in the middle of an emotional shootout.’

The two were also rumored to be experiencing a rough patch in their relationship of six months, but Adele tried to squash it on social media last week.

Grateful: During her speech for her third award, for Best Album, Adele emotionally decidated the gong to her son Angelo and her ex-husband Simon

She added: I’m really proud of myself for sticking to my guns and putting out something so personal. It’s not something people do anymore’

Adele said: My son has been so gracious and patient with me over recent years. So it’s for him’ 

She confirmed that she would be performing at the BRITs, and added at the end of her post, ‘Oh, and Rich sends his love.’

Amid the furore surrounding her Vegas residency, it’s been claimed that Adele wants to reduce her working commitments and make her career ‘more about her music’ following the cancellation of her Las Vegas shows.

The Mail on Sunday reported that she plans to ‘go back to basics’ after a high-profile PR campaign to promote her album, 30, including two TV specials.

Insiders say this explains her decision to appear at the BRITs and on Graham Norton’s chat show this Friday.

Impressive: Adele won in every single category that she was nominated in  

Thanks: BRITs organisers divided opinion and some were left outraged by the decision to switch to gender-neutral gongs for the first time in its history, in calls led by non-binary singer Sam Smith

A source said: ‘There have been times in the past six months when things got too big. There have been tensions within Team Adele.

‘One minute she was living life away from the limelight, the next she was being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey.

‘Adele loves the Brits. It’s where she feels at home. She used to be interviewed by The Face magazine who really appreciated her work, then she ended up being interviewed by someone in Australia who hadn’t even listened to her album.

‘Underneath all of the millions of pounds is a normal girl from Tottenham who is not remotely big time.’

The 2022 BRIT Awards was truly Adele’s night as she brought her complete tally of BRIT trophies to 12 since winning the first ever Rising Star award in 2008. 

Wow: The hitmaker ensured all eyes were on her as she donned a figure-hugging black plunging gown

Success: Adele sparked engagement rumours as she showed off a diamond ring while walking the red carpet

Rock: Adele, who is dating sports agent Rich Paul, displayed an eye-catching rock on her engagement finger

Animated: The star larked around on the red carpet as she flaunted the ring 

History: Adele confirmed she and Rich were an item when she shared a red heart emoji alongside an Instagram photo of the couple on September 19 last year 

Adele was presented with the prestigious Mastercard Album of the Year for the third time, having won for her previous two albums in 2012 and 2016 – the only solo artist in BRITs history to have won this award three times.

The songstress also became the first ever recipient of the BRITs’ inaugural Artist of the Year award, with her third victory claimed with the win for Song of the Year for Easy On Me. 

The International counterparts to these new categories similarly saw two unbeatable global artists celebrated; with Billie Eilish picking up International Artist of the Year and Olivia Rodrigo presented with International Song of the Year for Good 4 U – the biggest selling international single of the year in the UK.

International Group went to Silk Sonic – the collaborative superduo consisting of US artists Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. 

Making her BRITs debut both on stage with an electrifying two-song performance, and in this year’s shortlists, Little Simz was presented with Best New Artist, beating off competition from Central Cee, Griff, Joy Crookes and Self Esteem. 

She was joined on stage by actress Emma Corrin. The Mercury Prize winning London band Wolf Alice won Best Group, the second year they had been nominated in this category.

The 2022 BRITs Rising Star shortlist saw three incredible female artists compete for the coveted prize, as chosen by critics and heads of music to identify the future stars of British music. 

Winner Holly Humberstone got to perform to her biggest audience yet with a rendition of her new single London is Lonely, and was introduced on stage by last year’s Rising Star recipient, Griff.

The BRITs in 2022 saw a number of changes to awards categories in order to create even more opportunities for artists to be recognised. 

The recipient of the BRITs’ first ever Songwriter of the Year award tonight went to Ed Sheeran before he performed a second number, The Joker and The Queen later in the show. 

Having picked up two awards last year, Dua Lipa, was awarded with Pop/R&B Act, and having received her first ever BRIT nominations this year Becky Hill was awarded Dance Act.

Alternative/Rock Act went to Sam Fender (bringing his UK record label Polydor’s tally of trophies up to 5), who later in the show went on to wow the audience with a performance of his Top Ten hit single Seventeen Going Under. 

British rap royalty Dave was presented with the award for Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act by Arsenal legends Ian Wright and Bukayo Saka, and closed the ceremony with a triumphant performance of In The Fire, where he was joined by fellow rappers Ghetts, Giggs, Fredo, Konyikeh and Meekz.  

Presenters on the night included Courtney Cox and Johnny McDaid, Brian Cox, Vicky McClure, Jodie Whittaker, Mo Farah, Tom Daley and Ronnie Wood. 

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Tommy Dorfman’s husband Peter Zurkuhlen has filed for divorce after five years of marriage

Tommy Dorfman and Peter Zurkuhlen are officially calling it quits after five years of marriage, months after the star came out as a trans woman.

In new court documents, obtained by TMZ, the 33-year-old Founder & CEO of ChipChop Holdings filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The former couple met at a housewarming party hosted by a mutual friend, became engaged in April 2015 and wed the following year.

Divorcing: Tommy Dorfman and Peter Zurkuhlen are officially calling it quits after five years of marriage, months after the star came out as a transgender woman; seen together in 2018

In July, when Tommy, 29, came out as transgender, she also revealed that her relationship with Zurkuhlen had evolved into a friendship.

‘I was in a nine-year relationship in which I was thought of as a more male-bodied person, with a gay man,’ she explained in an interview with Time. 

‘I love him so much, but we’ve been learning that as a trans woman, what I’m interested in is not necessarily reflected in a gay man. So we’ve had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends.’ 

Inevitable split: In July, when Tommy (pictured in November) came out as transgender, she also revealed that her relationship with Zurkuhlen has evolved into a friendship since she began embracing her gender

Tommy’s husband took to social media to publicly support her coming out announcement over the summer.

Peter gushed that he had ‘so much love’ for Dorfman, who he described as ‘gorgeous.’  

The 13 Reasons Why star publicly revealed she was a transgender woman in an interview with Time during a chat with trans novelist Torrey Peters. 

‘I love him so much, but we’ve been learning that as a trans woman, what I’m interested in is not necessarily reflected in a gay man. So we’ve had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends’ (seen in 2020)

‘It’s funny to think about coming out, because I haven’t gone anywhere. I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically,’ she told the writer. 

Dorfman added: ‘Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.’ 

The performer sparked speculation from fans about her gender identity this past year after changing her appearance on Instagram, as well as stepping out with actor Lucas Hedges in New York last year wearing a summer dress. 

Coming out: The performer sparked speculation from fans about her gender identity this past year after changing her appearance on Instagram, as well as stepping out with actor Lucas Hedges in New York last year wearing a summer dress; seen in 2021

Dorfman also revealed in the interview why she decided to keep her name amid her transition, explaining: ‘I’m named after my mom’s brother who passed a month after I was born, and I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying.’

She added: ‘This is an evolution of Tommy. I’m becoming more Tommy… I am actually myself.’

Talking about her decision to come out, Dorfman said: ‘I’ve been living in this other version of coming out where I don’t feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it. But I recognize that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like?’

She added: ‘So I kept, on Instagram, a diaristic time capsule instead – one that shows a body living in a more fluid space.’

Longtime partners: The former couple met at a housewarming party hosted by a mutual friend, became engaged in April 2015 and wed the following year; seen in 2017

‘However, I’ve learned as a public-facing person that my refusal to clarify can strip me of the freedom to control my own narrative,’ Tommy went on.

‘With this medical transition, there has been discourse about my body, and it began to feel overwhelming.’

The actress explained that she did consider a different route in publicly coming out, including disappearing for two years and coming back into the spotlight ‘with a new name, new face and new body.’

However, Dorfman said that it was something she ‘couldn’t afford to do’ and wasn’t what she wanted.  

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Patton Oswalt reacts to backlash over meet-up with ‘canceled’ Dave Chappelle

Patton Oswalt addressed backlash he received after meeting up with controversial comic Dave Chappelle on New Year’s Eve. 

The 52-year-old stand-up comedian had shared several snaps with Chappelle, 48, in Seattle, Washington and called him a ‘genius’ and ‘real friend’ which ruffled some feathers. 

Responding to the criticism over both the post and the friendship, Oswalt explained that though they ‘100% disagree on transgender rights’ it was ‘impossible’ to cut off a friend of 34-years despite their differing beliefs.

Ruffling feathers: Patton Oswalt, 52, addressed backlash he received after meeting up with controversial comic Dave Chappelle, 48, on New Year’s Eve where he called him a ‘genius’ and ‘real friend’ 

Patton’s initial post showed several photos of he and Dave. He explained that as both were in town to cap off 2021 with stand-up sets — which happened to be next door to each other — he received a text from Chappelle to come by and do a guest set to which he thought ‘Why not?’    

‘I waved good-bye to this hell-year with a genius I started comedy with 34 years ago,’ he continued to say. ‘He works an arena like he’s talking to one person and charming their skin off. Anyway, I ended the year with a real friend and a deep laugh. Can’t ask for much more.’

Many were outraged on account of Chappelle’s transphobic statements in his Netflix special, The Closer, which caused Oswalt to share a self-reflection style follow-up while explaining himself on January 1. 

In a lengthy caption he apologized for any hurt the post may have caused and maintained that though he and Dave wholeheartedly disagree on transgender issues, he still defends the friendship as well.

Self-reflection: In a lengthy caption he apologized for any hurt the post may have caused and maintained that though he and Dave wholeheartedly disagree on transgender issues, he still defends the friendship as well 

‘I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time this New Year’s Eve. We’ve known each other since we’re teens. He’s a fellow comedian, the funniest I’ve ever met. I wanted to post a pic & an IG story about it — so I did. The friend is Dave Chappelle,’ Oswalt began.

‘Thirty four YEARS we’ve been friends. He’s refocused and refined ideas a lot of us took as settled about race & history & Life On Planet Earth and spun them around with a phrase or punchline. We’ve done bad & good gigs, open mikes & TV tapings. But we also 100% disagree about transgender rights & representation. 

‘I support trans peoples’ rights — ANYONE’S rights — to live safely in the world as their fullest selves. For all the things he’s helped ME evolve on, I’ll always disagree with where he stands NOW on transgender issues. 

‘But I also don’t believe a seeker like him is done evolving, learning. You know someone that long, see the struggles and changes, it’s impossible to cut them off. Impossible not to be hopeful and open and cheer them on,’ he continued. 

34 years of friendship: Many were outraged on account of Chappelle’s transphobic statements in his Netflix special, The Closer, which caused Oswalt to share a self-reflection style follow-up on January 1 where he defended their friendship but not Dave’s beliefs

Remaining hopeful: ‘But I also don’t believe a seeker like him is done evolving, learning,’ he continued to say adding that if ‘You know someone that long, see the struggles and changes, it’s impossible to cut them off’; Chappelle, Oswalt and wife Meredith Salenger pictured December 31

Surprise set: In his post Patton explained that as both were in town to cap off 2021 with stand-up sets — which happened to be next door to each other — he received a text from Chappelle to come by and do a guest set to which he thought ‘Why not?’

Oswalt continued to speak about the challenges of reconciling his desire to be a ‘loyal friend’ to Chappelle and retaining friendships with people who hold different beliefs while also being an ‘LGBTQ ally.’   

‘Also, I’ve been carrying a LOT of guilt about friends I’ve cut off, who had views with which I couldn’t agree, or changed in ways I couldn’t live with. Sometimes I wonder — did I and others cutting them off make them dig their heels in deeper, fuel their ignorance with a nitro-boost of resentment and spite?

‘I’m an LGBTQ ally. I’m a loyal friend. There’s friction in those traits that I need to reconcile myself, and not let cause feels of betrayal in ANYONE else. And I’m sorry, truly sorry, that I didn’t consider the hurt this would cause. Or the DEPTH of that hurt. 

Patton continued to say that he had been messaging with many on Instagram after the backlash, and confessed: ‘I (naively) deleted a lot of posts in the comment thread — critical ones from LGBTQ writers AND shit-posts by TERF/anti-trans orcs looking for clicks & giggles.’

Caught in the middle: Oswalt continued to speak about the challenges of reconciling his desire to be a ‘loyal friend’ to Chappelle and retaining friendships with people who hold different beliefs while also being an ‘LGBTQ ally’; pictured July 15

‘I wanted a “nice comment thread” about the pic with my friend. Ugh. So easy to think someone ELSE needs growth and miss the need in yourself. Gonna keep trying.’ 

Chappelle had famously found himself on the receiving end of cancel culture after he said in a segment of his Netflix special that a trans woman’s genitalia is ‘not quite what it is,’ and called gender ‘a fact.’ 

He additionally declared himself ‘team TERF’ (trans-exclusionary radical feminist)’ and defended Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling who has been accused of being transphobic.  

Following outrage he had remained unapologetic about the special and declared ‘I said what I said.’

There had been calls for Netflix to remove the special but an executive from the streaming giant said that the statements didn’t cross ‘the line on hate’ and declared they were not going to pull it from the platform, which later caused a walkout at Netflix from LGBTQ+ members and allies.  

Cancel club: Chappelle had famously found himself on the receiving end of cancel culture after his The Closer Netflix special where he said trans woman’s genitalia is ‘not quite what it is,’ called gender ‘a fact’ and declared himself ‘team TERF’ (trans-exclusionary radical feminist); pictured October 30

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Jamie Lee Curtis says ‘hardest thing’ about daughter coming out as trans was not using ‘dead name’

Jamie Lee Curtis says the ‘hardest thing’ about adjusting to her daughter Ruby coming out as transgender has been not using her new name — and not the one she’d been calling her all her life.

The 62-year-old actress revealed this summer that her daughter, who was previously known as Thomas, had told her and her husband, Christopher Guest, that she is a trans woman and now goes by Ruby.

Speaking to People, she now says there were ‘tears involved’ when Ruby came out, but she is ‘a grateful student’ when it comes to supporting her daughter. 

Curtis admitted that she does ‘slip up’ with Ruby’s pronouns occasionally, though Ruby said she is never ‘mad’ when that happens, because she knows her mom is doing the best she can.

‘It’s speaking a new language,’ she said. ‘It’s learning new terminology and words. I am new at it. I am not someone who is pretending to know much about it. And I’m going to blow it, I’m going to make mistakes. I would like to try to avoid making big mistakes.’ 

Jamie Lee Curtis says the ‘hardest thing’ about adjusting to her daughter Ruby coming out as transgender has been not using her new name, not the one she’d been calling her all her life 

Ruby, a video editor for a gaming personality on YouTube, said that she knew she was different when she was about 16, but due to a negative experience in therapy, she didn’t come out ‘when I probably should have.’

It wasn’t until a few years ago, while she was still going by Tom and dating her now-fiancé, that she first admitted she might be trans.

Her fiancé said: ‘I love you for who you are.’

So last summer, she worked up the nerve to tell her parents, admitting it was ‘scary’ and ‘intimidating’ even though she wasn’t worried they wouldn’t accept her. She had already used the word ‘bi’ to describe herself, and they’d always been supportive.

When she broke the news, Curtis said there were ‘tears involved.’ But while she’d never before had an ‘inkling’ that Ruby was trans, looking back, she could see some signs — like how Ruby would use a female avatar while gaming.

The hardest adjustment, she said, has been not using Ruby’s ‘dead name.’ But she admitted that it ‘so doesn’t fit anymore.’ 

Family: Ruby (left) — who was previously known as Thomas — is a computer gaming editor, and Curtis and Guest also have a 34-year-old daughter, Annie, (second from left) who is a dance instructor. The family is seen here at the Halloween Kills premiere in 2018

Ruby (left) attended the premiere of Wreck-It Ralph with Curtis in 2012

‘That was, of course, the hardest thing. Just the regularity of the word,’ she said. 

‘The name that you’d given a child. That you’ve been saying their whole life. And so, of course, at first that was the challenge. Then the pronoun. My husband and I still slip occasionally. 

‘You slow your speech down a little. You become a little more mindful about what you’re saying. How you’re saying it. You still mess up, I’ve messed up today twice. We’re human,’ she said. 

Ruby doesn’t get ‘mad’ when her parents slip up, acknowledging that her mother had ‘done the most you can, and that’s all I want.’

Curtis also insisted that she is not ‘proselytizing’ by sharing her family’s story or ‘trying to force-feed something to people.’

‘I’m simply saying, “This is our family’s experience.” I am here to support Ruby. That is my job,’ she said.

Curtis said she know she is going to ‘blow it’ and ‘make mistakes’ adjusting to this ‘new language,’ though Ruby said she is never ‘mad’ when her mom slips (Curtis pictured carrying Ruby as a baby in 1996)

Ruby admitted she was ‘scared’ to come out and Curtis said there were ‘tears involved’ (pictured at the ‘One Piece Film: Gold’ premiere on January 5, 2017)

Curtis, who also shares a 34-year-old daughter named Annie with her husband, first spoke about Ruby’s coming out in an interview with AARP magazine in July. 

Curtis said that she and her husband ‘have watched in wonder and pride as our son’ — who was previously known as Thomas — ‘became our daughter Ruby.’ 

In the interview, which was conducted with Ruby’s permission, Curtis explained that she has tossed out the ‘old idea’ that gender is fixed and is instead leaning into the idea that life is a ‘constant metamorphosis.’   

The actress has previously showed support for trans people going back several years, and in 2017 shared a Huffington Post article on Twitter: ‘Dear Trans Kids. The letter we all wish we had written. (from a trans teacher).’

Last year, she also signed on to direct and star in a TV movie about GLAAD Media Institute alum Sara Cunningham. Cunningham is the founder of Free Mom Hugs, which celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community. She also spoke excitedly about Ruby’s upcoming nuptials. 

Curtis’ children are private — and have only attended a handful of events with their mom — but Ruby gave her mom the OK to share two pieces of personal information with AARP, the other being her impending nuptials. 

Curtis also insisted that she is not ‘proselytizing’ by sharing her family’s story or ‘trying to force-feed something to people’ (pictured in 2016) 

‘She and her fiancé will get married next year at a wedding that I will officiate,’ the Halloween star said. 

Curtis didn’t say whether Ruby is marrying man or woman, though in 2019 Ruby shared a photo with a girlfriend.

Gender and sexuality are two different and unrelated things, and Curtis has previously spoken out on the latter being a private matter.

‘I don’t think it’s anybody’s business what people’s sexuality is, to be perfectly honest,’ she told Pride Source in 2019, replying to a question about her own sexuality and her advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Though she thinks sexuality is ‘nobody’s business, it doesn’t matter,’ she makes an exception if ‘you legislate anti-gay legislation but are gay. I fully accept outing those people for the hypocrisy.’

Curtis, who is the daughter of screen stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, said she grew up comfortable around gay people thanks to her Hollywood parents. 

Curtis also revealed that Ruby (left) will marry her fiancé next year. Curtis didn’t share any details of Ruby’s spouse-to-be, though Ruby did share a picture with a girlfriend in 2019 (right)

‘[My mother’s] make-up artist was gay, the playwright that she did a play with was a great friend of our family who was gay,’ she explained. 

But, she added: ‘You don’t have to have your own experience in order to feel compassion and the need for justice and equality. 

‘In the LGBTQ world, certainly I have friends and family, but I don’t have to have the direct experience in order to feel the compassion that I truly feel for acceptance and equality in all areas.’

Curtis and Guest struggled with infertility and adopted their eldest, Annie, through an agency in 1986. Nine years later, they adopted Ruby.   

In 1996, Curtis wrote a book, Tell Me Again About The Night I Was Born, to stress the importance of sharing birth stories with adopted children.

She also told AARP that she is hopeful of one day being a grandmother. When asked if she has grandchildren yet, she said: ‘Not yet, but I do hope to.’  

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Elliot Page shows off washboard abs in shirtless Instagram selfie

Elliot Page shows off washboard abs in shirtless Instagram selfie as he declares: ‘TGIF’ heading into weekend

He has a stunning set of washboard abs

And Elliot Page put them on display in a new shirtless selfie he posted on his Insta Stories heading into the weekend.

The 34-year-old Umbrella Academy star, who came out as a transgender man last year, captioned the picture: ‘TGIF.’

Looking good: Elliot Page put them on display in a new shirtless selfie he posted on his Insta Stories heading into the weekend

Over the past year Elliot has gone through seismic changes, announcing he was trans last December and then in January revealing he was getting divorced.

He and his estranged wife Emma Portner got married in 2018 long before Elliot’s transition and apparently first split up over the summer of 2020.

After Elliot came out as trans in December his wife posted a supportive statement saying: ‘Trans, queer and non-binary people are a gift to this world.’

Cheers: Elliot is pictured in a recent Instagram snap with nonbinary Canadian actor Mae Martin whose grandfather was English actor Tom Chatto

She also added: ‘I also ask for patience & privacy but that you join me in the fervent support of trans life every single day. Elliot’s existence is a gift in and of itself. Shine on, sweet E. Love you so much.’

Then when fans began to speculate about Emma she wrote on Insta Stories: ‘My gender identity, pronouns, and sexuality are private and not up for debate.’

Elliot and Emma have apparently amicably split and gave a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter announcing their divorce this January. 

Sweet: Elliot is pictured with his dog Mo in a recent Instagram snap

‘After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce following our separation last summer. We have the utmost respect for each other and remain close friends,’ they said together.

A couple of months after his coming out Elliot gave an interview to Time where he expressed optimism about how transition would affect his acting work.

‘I’m really excited to act, now that I’m fully who I am, in this body. No matter the challenges and difficult moments of this, nothing amounts to getting to feel how I feel now,’ he said in the profile interview.

Amicable divorce: Elliot and his wife Emma Portner announced their divorce jointly in January after quietly separating last summer

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