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Nikkie de Jager Speaks to Ellen About the Support She’s Gotten in Coming Out Due to Blackmail

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 23: Nikkie de Jager of Nikki Tutorials accepts an award on stage at the The 9th Annual Shorty Awards on April 23, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Shorty Awards)

Last week, we talked about YouTuber Nikkie Tutorials, whose name is Nikkie de Jager, and how she was forced to share that she was a trans woman due to blackmail. After sharing this part of herself in a video, Nikkie was met with overwhelming support from the beauty community and beyond. She spoke outside of her channel properly for the first time on Ellen, with the titular host.

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Nikkie explained: “A couple of weeks ago, I got emails from a certain person, who was not OK with the fact that I was ‘lying’ and wanted to expose that. He had a very pressuring tone of voice, and he was like, ‘If I don’t get an answer by tomorrow, it’s out.’ I think his entire goal with this was to destroy my life. Plot twist: That didn’t happen!”

In addition to the support of her various communities, Nikkie’s boyfriend, Dylan, has always been supportive of her and encouraged her to take control of the situation and share her story with everyone. The video has been viewed (as of this writing) over 32 million times, with only 123K dislikes to 2.8M likes. It’s really beautiful and powerful, and I’m glad that, despite everything, the response tells Nikkie that people are on her side.

On Ellen, she said in response to all of the good press: “It’s been unreal. I uploaded the video and just started crying, but people were like, ‘We love you. We accept you.’ I was so happy that it’s 2020 and the acceptance is real.”

Yes, there are privilege and benefits that Nikkie has in her community, but it’s still important for a lot of people—especially trans people who are on the internet and part of the beauty community that might not feel included—to see her and know that there can be a place for trans beauty influencers. And now, they won’t have to feel like they need to keep that part of their identity to themselves as a necessity. It is truly one of the few good things to come out of the whole thing.

We are still not aware of who was responsible for blackmailing Nikkie, although people have their speculations, but they have most certainly lost this round.

“Thank you for letting me be here,” Nikkie told Ellen. “I think there’s one person to get this message across globally, and you, like no other, know what it’s like to come out, so thank you for this honor.”

In response to this, DeGeneres announced that she would be making a $10,000 donation to The Trevor Project to support LGBT+ youth. Despite the major misfires Ellen has made in recent history, this was an excellent use of her platform, and I’m glad she was able to bring Nikkie on to share her story.

(via Pink News, image: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Shorty Awards)

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Princess Weekes
Princess (she/her-bisexual) is a Brooklyn born Megan Fox truther, who loves Sailor Moon, mythology, and diversity within sci-fi/fantasy. Still lives in Brooklyn with her over 500 Pokémon that she has Eevee trained into a mighty army. Team Zutara forever.

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