Nikkie de Jager Wants You to Know That the Rainbow Family Is There to Support You
Nikkie de Jager discusses having to cut ties with part of her family while re-creating a follower’s Pride makeup look in a new YouTube video.
This is de Jager’s first year celebrating Pride as an official part of the Rainbow family after a blackmailer forced her to come out as a trans woman in January. In the new video, de Jager discusses how coming out is a personal decision that should be done on your own terms. She talks about how supportive the LGBTQ+ community has been to her, but she also recognizes the discrimination within the community, calling specifically for more attention to be brought to Black trans lives.
“I know at first that you’re seeing a bright pride look and it’s ‘recreating my follower’s looks’, but in the video, I really dive into some personal questions about me coming out, about a part of my family not accepting me,” said de Jager in an Instagram story. “So even though we are celebrating makeup and having fun with makeup, it’s definitely a more vulnerable video for me.”
De Jager explains that she was fortunate to have supportive parents, but that her family on her father’s side did not approve of her transition. She ended up cutting ties with that side of her family but understands it’s not always possible to distance yourself from unsupportive family members, especially parents.
“I remember the day I was sitting in the studio, and I had to do it worldwide. It was the scariest day of my life up until the moment I uploaded because I was overwhelmed with so much love,” said de Jager. “So I know how frightening it feels. I know how scary it is, and I know that at this moment it might feel like you may lose all your friends, you may lose your family… As the rainbow family, we understand. So know if your friends don’t understand or your family doesn’t want to understand, there’s a huge community here, ready to give their love to you and to catch you and to lift you up. We are here.”
De Jager selected drag queen Ellis Atlantis’ (@ellis_atlantis) comic-inspired rainbow look to recreate in her YouTube video. De Jager described the look as “pop art with a little bit of drag and a lot of pride.” With so many Pride makeup submissions, de Jager also featured another colorful look by 19-year-old Jayper Palma (@jayperpalma) on her Instagram.
“I love using my platform to support other artists,” said de Jager in her YouTube video. “I want… to be able to use my platform and get other names out there.”
Keep a lookout for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars contestant Shea Coulee in a future video, as de Jager hinted that a collaboration may be coming soon.
“I am so, so happy to be part of the rainbow family, officially, this year,” said de Jager. “And hopefully next year it’s on to celebrate outdoors. But for me the meantime, we can celebrate indoors with all this makeup.” Follow @nikkietutorials on Instagram and NikkieTutorials on YouTube to stay up to date.
