We applaud your bravery, Zeke Smith!
In the latest issue of PEOPLE Magazine, the Survivor: Game Changers star comes out as transgender right before Wednesday night’s episode where a competitor outs Smith’s sexuality. The unnamed contestant believes Zeke was being “deceitful” for not revealing this personal detail to the rest of the cast.
Related: The Fosters Features A Transgender Romance
The reality TV personality wants to make it clear why he wasn’t forthright about his identity on the hit show. He said:
“I’m not ashamed of being trans, but I didn’t want that to be my story. I just wanted to go out on an adventure and play a great game.”
The Harvard graduate didn’t want to be labeled by stereotypes, and believes his “fun-loving” personality is more important to people than his gender.
“When you tell people you’re trans, you get two reactions: Either they look at you funny and pull back, or they go, ‘Aww, that must be so hard’… I’m a goofy, fun-loving guy, so neither of those reactions work well for me.”‘
The CBS celeb says producers knew he was trans during his audition for last season’s Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X, but he ultimately didn’t discuss it on the show.
The Oklahoma-native came out as gay when he was 15, and transitioned from a woman to a man during college.
Zeke, we think you’re awesome and we hope you win this season!
[Image via CBS.]
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