Charice: ‘My soul is male’

MANILA, Philippines – Six years after her first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, singer Charice Pempengco is back for an interview with Winfrey for the first time since coming out in 2013. 

In the teaser for the “Where Are They Now” series on the Oprah Winfrey Network, Pempengco opened up about her sexuality and gender identity.  

Asked whether she was thinking about transitioning into a male, Pempengco told Oprah she identifies as a male but is not thinking about undergoing surgery to make permanent changes to her body.

“Basically, my soul is…male but I’m not going to go through that stage where I’m going to change everything,” Pempengco said. 

“(I won’t) change my body. I would change this look and all, cut my hair, wear boy clothes, and everything but that’s all,” she stressed.

Pempengco gained overseas fame after her videos of her performances uploaded on Youtube caught the attention of Winfrey and fellow talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Since then, she has had a best-selling album, a hit song, and a recurring role in TV show Glee under her belt. 

She came out in June 2013 in a televised interview. Pempengco told Oprah she realized she was gay at an early age.

“I knew when I was 5. I was in gradeschool and I saw this girl and I felt different. I didn’t know what it was but I just knew that at that time, it felt special. And when I was 10, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s it. I’m gay,” Pempengco said. 

The episode will air Sunday, October 19 at 9pm US time (Monday, October 20 at 9am Philippine time).

Watch the teaser of the Where Are They Now series below: 

– Rappler.com