Social Media Influencer Zaya Perysian Files New Lawsuit Against President Trump
Influencer Zaya Perysian posted a video on Monday announcing her part in the ACLU lawsuit against President Trump’s anti-trans passport policy.
Perysian, who has almost 5 million followers on TikTok, is a transgender content creator who makes a variety of videos from her transition journey and activism to funny videos and brand deals with brands such as Forever 21 and Clean & Clear.
The TikToker first came out in 2020 and has since been an inspiration and educational guide to trans people trying to build their future the way they hope. Her transition videos educate people considering transitioning and those seeking community. Cisgender people have also found her transition journey videos helpful, with most having a comment from someone sharing they learned something new.
While Perysian does receive some hate comments, she focuses on being a positive force in her community and collaborates often with other TikTokers in the trans community, such as Ve’ondre Mitchell, a musician who also makes videos on activism.
Perysian has remained consistent in bringing awareness to trans issues in her videos; however, when President Trump began his second term earlier this year, he signed several executive orders against the transgender community.
A week after his inauguration, the content creator posted a video announcing her gender changed to male on her new passport and demonstrated the “M” to her audience.
The influencer stated, “I had a passport when I was a kid that I used once. So basically, it doesn’t matter that all my other documents say female and that I’ve had my sex change surgery. If you’ve had a passport in the past that displays the opposite sex, then they will not honor your gender change.”
She ended her video calling for help with legal action, stating, “They are only doing this to scare people like me because they don’t want us in public life. They want us to hide in fear and be scared of them, but trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”
True to her word, Perysian posted a new video to TikTok on Monday with an update sharing she will be officially working with the ACLU to sue President Trump.
She stated, “This policy is dangerous, and it is unfair to every single trans, non-binary, or intersex person that there is. I’m an American, and yes, I’m transgender, but I deserve to be able to travel freely without fear or repercussions. We deserve the freedom to be ourselves, and no politician should be able to take that away. This is just a small part of a broad effort by the Trump administration to push trans people out of public life and act like we don’t exist.”
She continued, “They want to ban our healthcare, censor our speech, [and] control our lives, and I’m not just gonna sit there and let it happen. We’re not gonna sit here and let it happen. We deserve better than this because all people deserve better than this, and Donald Trump, we’ll see you in court.”
The ACLU of Massachusetts will defend Perysian alongside fellow plaintiffs “Ashton Orr, Sawyer Soe, Chastain Anderson, Drew Hall, Bella Boe, and Reid Solomon-Lane, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated,” in their class action complaint Orr v. Trump.
Follow the ACLU on Instagram if you’d like to check out more updates on the case.
