D. Smith star of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta says he is detransitioning after 12 years as a trans woman
D. Smith has shared they will be living as a man after 12 years as a trans woman (Instagram – truedsmith)
D. Smith has shared a Instagram post announcing he is detransitioning, saying his “respect and love for the transgender community remain unchanged” as he begins “a new chapter” in his life.
The Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast member and Grammy-nominated producer said he had been living publicly as a transgender woman for 12 years, but will now live and present as a man, using he/him pronouns.
“For most of my life, I’ve followed my heart, even when the path wasn’t easy to understand,” Smith wrote. “Over the last twelve years, I lived my life publicly as a transgender woman. Those years weren’t a mistake. They were real.”
He added: “Over the past several months, I’ve begun a new chapter in my life. Going forward, I’ll be living and presenting as a man and using he/him pronouns,” and stressed: “This isn’t about erasing my past. Living my life as a woman for 12 years showed me the man that I wanted to become.”
Smith also underlined his support for trans people, writing: “My respect and love for the transgender community remain unchanged, and I continue to believe that every person deserves to live with dignity, safety, and compassion and have the freedom to become themselves.”
What Smith said in his statement
Smith posted his statement on Thursday (18 September). He said he has been in this new chapter “over the past several months”, and indicated he plans to speak more about his experience later on.
“There is much more to this journey [that] can’t fit into this statement. When the time is right, I’ll share that story in full. Until then, thank you for allowing me space to continue growing.”
Love & Hip Hop and Kokomo City
Smith is a US music producer and songwriter who has worked across mainstream hip-hop and pop, later moving into documentary filmmaking. He became widely known in LGBTQ+ and entertainment circles for publicly transitioning in the 2010s and speaking about transphobia in the music industry, including in a 2023 interview about Kokomo City.
Smith directed Kokomo City, centred on the lives of Black trans sex workers, which won the NEXT Innovator and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023. He also appeared as a supporting cast member on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta season 5 in 2016, where he was described as the first openly transgender cast member of an unscripted series, and he was publicly celebrated as a trans woman by a partner in a 2023 post condemning anti-trans violence.
