'Drag Race,' 'American Idol' Star Adore Delano Comes Out as Transgender

August 2024 · 3 minute read
Jill O'Rourke Jill O'Rourke
Jill O'Rourke

Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit


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| July 27, 2023

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RuPaul’s Drag Race star Adore Delano, who also competed on American Idol, came out as transgender earlier this week in an honest video posted to Instagram. Delano opened up about her journey, saying she’s “the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Drag Race Star Adore Delano Comes Out as Transgender

Adore Delano is known for her time as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6, where she made it to the Finals. She was also a contestant on Season 7 of American Idol, making it to the Semifinals and going viral for her funny comments to the judges.

Delano started her new video by saying she’s noticed “a lot of talk about my body and questions about my gender.” She went on to confirm that she’s transitioning, but chose to keep it quiet for the first three months as she “wanted to go through the beginning stages of the puberty privately.”

“I’ve found that it’s been very enlightening and has made me probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my adult life,” Delano shared, explaining that she has also been sober for two years now.

Delano opened up about her journey, sharing that she came out to her mother as trans when she was a teenager. However, she chose to “suppress everything” during her time on Idol, calling it “a sacrifice in order to get what I wanted career-wise.”

SEE ALSO: ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ ALUM, DRAG QUEEN ADORE DELANO REUNITES WITH HER KINDERGARTEN TEACHER

Delano Is Using She/Her Pronouns Now

During her video, Delano shared that she’ll be undergoing surgery in November, adding, “I’m probably going to look a little different.” She’ll also be taking a few months off at the start of the year as she recovers from “some major surgeries.”

Toward the end of the video, Delano shared that she’s going by she/her pronouns, explaining, “They still feels a little cute, but she/her just feels yummy on this cupcake.”

Delano received an outpouring of support in the comments of her post, including a comment from Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, who wrote, “Texting you princesa!!!! I’m so happy for you could BURST.” As of this writing, Delano’s post has over 180,000 likes.

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