Gigi Gorgeous was detained at a Dubai airport on Tuesday, August 9, for over five hours because she is transgender. In an emotional Wednesday, August 10, Instagram post, the 24-year-old YouTube star opened up about the horrifying experience.
“After being detained and held at the Dubai airport for over 5 hours, this was the moment my baby came to rescue me,” the L.A. resident wrote alongside a photo of herself locked in an embrace with pal Nats Getty at the airport. “Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my entire life and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. How you can be denied entry somewhere just because of who you are is seriously disgusting and also very scary.”
The internet personality — who was formerly known as Gregory Gorgeous, began her male-to-female transition in 2013 and officially changed her name in 2014 — went on to say that the troubling incident has made it apparent to her that there needs to be more acceptance for the LBGT community.
“This further proves the need for CHANGE. I am now on my way to somewhere much more accepting,” she concluded. “Safe and sound and happy. I love you guys💋.”
TMZ reports that airport police claimed that the beauty vlogger’s passport and passport photo represented her as a male. “I was told, ‘You are transgender. You cannot come into the country,’” she told the site on Tuesday. In Dubai, “imitation of women by men” is illegal, according to TMZ.
However, Gorgeous (full name: Giselle Loren Lazzarato) insisted to TMZ that her passport photo is current and the name listed on the travel document includes her updated moniker.
During a June 2015 interview with Cosmopolitan, the Toronto native, whose celeb BFFs include Kylie Jenner and Miley Cyrus, spoke about her brave decision to transition.
“The beginning was definitely the hardest part. There were so many new experiences for me that I was taking on and I felt I had the pressure from everyone to be perfect,” she told the mag. “It was also quite funny because I had gotten many calls from friends I hadn't spoken to in a few months and they would ask me how I was recovering. They found out where I was in my transition from my YouTube videos! It was a great feeling to have that support.”
