Glee's Charice Pempengco Comes Out As A Trans Man

The singing sensation formerly known as Charice Pempengco has changed his name to Jake Zyrus and come out as a trans man, People reports. The Glee star deleted his old social media posts and then revised his Twitter and Instagram handles to reflect his new identity.

His first Instagram post as Jake Zyrus was a simple photo reading "thank you" with the caption, "from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love and respect. I love you back and I'm sending peace to everyone." His first tweet read, "My first tweet as Jake. Overwhelmed. Saw all your love comments and I'm so happy. Finally. I love you, everyone and see you soon."

The rest of his social media presence since the announcement has been full of positivity. "I won't let anyone ruin this moment. I won't let anyone ruin my happiness. Thank you to all the beautiful write ups about me," he wrote in another tweet, then added, "forever grateful. let's just love one another. I love you all. I really do. I reaaaaalllyyyy ddddoooo."

You might recognise Zyrus as Rachel's rival Sunshine Corazon on season 2 of Glee. He sang a fabulous duet with Rachel when they covered Lady Gaga's "Telephone." But that's not all he's famous for: His 2010 album Charice was the first album by an Asian solo singer to make the Billboard 200 top 10.

After Zyrus came out as trans, Esquire Philippines initially wrote an article making fun of his name change. In response to people calling them out on social media, the publication has since published an apology. "When Caitlyn Jenner stepped out into the world via a groundbreaking Vanity Fair cover, the words on that cover proclaimed simply: 'I am Caitlyn,'" it reads. "Jake Zyrus’ first tweet as Jake should have been received with the same gravity, but we did not recognise it for what it is: a strong statement about identity." Zyrus stayed positive, accepting the apology and wishing Esquire Philippines "all love."