Jake Zyrus. Image: Instagram/@jakezyrusmusic
Jake Zyrus didn’t hold back from hitting back at a netizen who claimed his past singing voice as Charice Pempengco is “sayang,” as he spoke up about undergoing hormone therapy.
Zyrus said hormone therapy is a “huge part of being a trans man,” in response to one @dart_eves who compared his voice to fellow singer Ice Seguerra, as seen in the comments of the singer’s Instagram post on Wednesday, June 19.
“First of all, with respect to my past, keep my deadname out of your silly mouth. And darling, it’s because he hasn’t taken any hormone therapy. It’s a HUGE part of being a transman,” he said.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@jakezyrusmusic
Zyrus pointed out that he’s “not going to explain the rest,” as the netizen appeared to be “ignorant” of his story.
“I am not going to explain the rest because based on your comment you sound ignorant. Google is free my darling. I’m going to pin your comment because it seems like you love being [the] center of attention. So let’s give it to you sweetheart. Have a nice day,” he wrote.
Filipina-American singer Cheesa also defended Zyrus in the comments, to which the latter chimed in to reiterate that being a trans artist is more than “high or low notes.”
“You support a trans, and bash another trans because of what? Birit (Singing high notes)? Yun lang (That’s it)? Make it make sense sis. Hater. Being a transgender is more than just singing high or low notes,” he said.
“And the audacity of you to deadname me and properly call Ice his real name. What a joke,” he further added.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@jakezyrusmusic
Formerly known as Charice Pempengco, Zyrus first came out as lesbian in a The Buzz interview in June 2013. Four years later, he came out as transgender and dropped his birth name.
Zyrus opened up about struggling with his gender identity in a July 2021 interview, saying he had a hard time “hiding” his true self from the public, even when he was still known as Charice.