Jackie Evancho’s Transgender Sister Allegedly Received A Lot Of Online Hate

Welcome to the world of internet scrutiny, Jackie Evancho! Since it was announced that the singer will perform at Donald Trump's inauguration, Evancho graduated from Unknown Reality Star to This Person Matters. (Yes, she was on America's Got Talent, but we won't mince words — very few people knew who she was.) In a new interview with People, the 16-year-old said that her family receives a lot of hate on social media. "Well, my family is sort of a big target. I have a transgender sister, so a lot of hate goes towards us," she shared. She didn't make clear whether the hate started before or after the recent announcement. But Evancho's sister is somewhat famous on her own — she came out as trans in an essay for Teen Vogue, and sued her Pennsylvania school district for discriminating against transgender students. However, scrolling through Twitter, the "hate" doesn't seem to be directed at Juliet Evancho or to come at the expense of the LGBTQ community. In fact, recent tweets criticize Jackie for her decision to sing in front of a possibly anti-LGBTQ administration.

While Donald Trump has stated that he supports same-sex marriage in the past, Vice President-elect Mike Pence has a well-documented history of championing anti-gay legislation. As The New York Times points out, an archived version of his congressional website advocated for public funding of conversion therapy. Nevertheless, as Twitter hate is fame's favorite side dish, we don't doubt that Evancho has been subject to nastier tweets. Though she said herself that she also gets social media love. "But I also get a lot of love," she explained. "And so we pay most attention to that." When asked what she is most excited about in performing at the inauguration, Evancho said she's pumped for the viewership. "That's what I'm most excited about — the audience. I feel like it's gonna be a big audience. And I love big audiences," she said.