LOS ANGELES – “The Matrix” filmmaker Lilly Wachowski, formerly known as Andy, came out as a transgender woman on Tuesday, four years after her sister Lana Wachowski revealed she was a transgender woman.
Lilly Wachowski, 48, said in a statement in Chicago’s Windy City Times that she decided to make her gender reassignment public after a journalist from Britain’s DailyMail asked her for an interview to tell her story. Wachowski said other reporters have approached her agents in the past to ask about her transition.
“I knew at some point I would have to come out publicly. You know, when you’re living as an out transgender person it’s … kind of difficult to hide. I just wanted — needed some time to get my head right, to feel comfortable. But apparently I don’t get to decide this,” Wachowski wrote.
In an emailed statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the DailyMail.com said it did not try to pressure Wachowski into revealing her gender transition.
“As Ms Wachowski herself says, we were not the first media organization to approach her and we made absolutely clear at several points in the conversation that we were only interested in reporting the story if and when she was happy for us to do so and with her cooperation,” the spokesperson said.
Lily Wachowski’s sister Lana, 50, formerly known as Larry, came out publicly as a transgender woman in 2012.
In her statement, Lilly Wachowski touched on the struggles faced by the transgender community, and said that while progress has been made, “we continue to be demonized and vilified in the media where attack ads portray us as potential predators to keep us from even using the goddamn bathroom.”
“So yeah, I’m transgender. And yeah, I’ve transitioned,” she said, adding that she is out to her wife, family and friends.
The Wachowskis, who are private about their lives and rarely give interviews, have carved a reputation with “The Matrix” franchise, “V for Vendetta” and, most recently, Netflix’s sci-fi series “Sense8.”
On Twitter, some fans, and even journalists, have accused the media of once again ‘outing’ individuals for a headline.
So I see some publications are still “outing” people for headlines? Did I fall asleep and wake up in the 1980s? https://t.co/nFsiDmFrWs
— Charlene White (@CharleneWhite) March 9, 2016
While others have taken to Twitter to congratulate Lilly on her courage and her eloquence.
Lilly Wachowski has come out as a trans woman with a smart and personal statement: https://t.co/quzRa8gknxpic.twitter.com/YBVHNhTQe3
— Ironicus (@Gen_Ironicus) March 9, 2016
PIYA SINHA-ROY
