Look: Adore Delano of 'Drag Race,' 'American Idol' comes out as transgender
July 27 (UPI) -- Singer and drag performer Adore Delano says she is transgender.
The RuPaul's Drag Race and American Idol alum came out as a transgender woman in a video Wednesday on Instagram.
Delano spoke out after seeing "a lot of talk about my body and questions about my gender" online.
"I wanted to let everybody know that I am transitioning, and I kept it really kind of hush-hush the first three months because I wanted to go through the beginning stages of the puberty privately," the star said.
"I've found that it has been very enlightening and has made me probably the happiest I've ever been in my adult life," she added.
Delano recounted how she came out as bisexual and gay before ultimately coming out as trans to her mother during high school. She felt she had to "suppress everything" she felt as a trans person, however, while appearing on American Idol Season 7 as a teenager in 2008.
"I reinvented myself into something that was so uncomfortable. It was almost like a sacrifice in order to get what I wanted career-wise. It made sense to me at the time, as a 16-year-old, and then I got on the show, and that carried on in the story on Drag Race," the star explained.
As an adult, Delano said she's been sober for the past two years and credited sobriety with helping her to embrace her identity and process her emotions.
"I'm dealing with my feelings, and I'm allowing them to be, and I'm taking care of myself and I feel beautiful," she said.
Drag Race judge Michelle Visage and fellow Drag Race alums Courtney Act and Peppermint showed their support for Delano in the comments.
"Texting you princesa!!!! I'm so happy for you could BURST," Visage wrote.
"I accompany you on any journey. I love you forever. My ride or die!" Act added.
"I'm so proud of you. Welcome home sis," Peppermint said.
Delano was the runner-up in RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 and later appeared in RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 2.
