I was so impressed with the way that Nikkie de Jager, the Dutch makeup artist behind Nikkie Tutorials, came out as transgender after being threatened by someone trying to blackmail her. I initially wasn’t going to cover it as I had only heard of her and hadn’t seen her videos. I watched her coming out video and was touched by how she told her story, and by how open and genuine she comes across. I felt the same way after seeing Nikkie on Ellen. You may have heard the follow-up story about how the founder of TooFaced fired his sister for transphobic comments against Nikkie, calling her a liar. In her appearance on Ellen, Nikkie explained how she was blackmailed by man she didn’t name, which was classy of her. She also restated some of the same points she made in her video: that she hopes she can help other transgender people, and that she was unsure when she would come out as it never seemed like the right time. I especially liked what she said about being privileged as a woman who is CIS-looking and blonde, meaning white.
On the blackmail
I got emails from a certain person. He was not ok with the fact that I was [airquote] lying and wanted to expose that. So he had a very pressuring tone of voice. His entire goal was to destroy my life.On the positive response
It’s been unreal. My fiance really pushed me to post this [and told me] ‘we’re going to get through this.’ People were like ‘we love you, we accept you.’ I was so happy that it’s 2020 and the acceptance is real.Ellen: “I don’t think you were lying. It’s your own private business and you’re teaching people how to put makeup on. That’s got nothing to do with anybody. If you wouldn’t have been blackmailed do you think you would have come out?”
I always wanted to come out but it’s such a delicate thing. How do you find the timing? There’s never the perfect timing. I’m not thankful to the person who did this [but] I am thankful that it happened now.I have privilege. I started when I was really young. I pass. I am blonde. I look CIS. I want to take this opportunity to hopefully inspire a lot of transgender people. Even when you’re starting later on in your journey we need to accept that. I don’t know where I fit in in this magical world. As long as I get to be myself and inspire little Nikkies to be themselves, that’s all I can do.
[From Ellen]
She’s wonderful, and I love what she said about how we need to accept people who are coming out later in life too. That must take so much courage. I don’t know how else to explain it and I hope that’s not insensitive. When I saw Laverne Cox speak she said that there’s a moment on the street when you get recognized as a transgender person and that can be scary. It can also be deadly, especially for women of color. Nikkie is acknowledging that her situation is privileged and she’s also using her platform to make a difference. Also, say what you will about Ellen and she’s screwed up some stuff lately, but she was the perfect host for Nikkie to talk to and she handled this interview beautifully.
Here’s Nikkie’s interview!
