Gurmit Singh on his queer icon daughter Gabrielle: "Till the day I die, I will still love her."

Описание: On 1 January 2025, Channel NewsAsia premiered the inaugural episode of "The Assembly" in which 23 neurodivergent participants were brought together to engage its first guest - 59 year-old actor, comedian and host Gurmit Singh. In one section, Singh answers questions about his daughter Gabrielle, 27, who works as a drag and burlesque performer with the stage name of Lychee Bye.

Transcript:

Stephanie Fam (39 year old woman with cerebral palsy): Your oldest daughter Gabrielle is a very well known icon of the queer community. How did you come to accept it?

Gurmit Singh: Yeah, so she has taken that path and it was difficult at first because she's in the queer community. She does a show that's not TV-friendly for sure. But at the end the day, she is still my daughter. Till the day I die, I was still love her. You know, like they say: Hate the game, don't hate the player. We may have differing opinions of things, and career paths and life choices, but she's still my flesh and blood. I'll still be there in the blink of an eye if she needs me. I also kind of reconcile that and akin that to when I made a decision to become an actor. My parents had high hopes for me to become a lawyer, judge or whatever...policeman. And then I became this comedian, an actor. So, as far as Gabrielle is concerned, as a parent, as long as she is happy ,I'm happy. It may not be what I want to be or what I had hoped she would choose, but as long as it's legal and she's happy with it, I'm happy with it.

Another woman participant: A lot of Singaporeans may still not accept her identity as queer. So, do you sometimes worry about her safety, whether it be physically or mentally, in Singapore?

Gurmit Singh: In terms of mental wellbeing, she used to be very, very shy. She used to be afraid of how people think of her. So in that respect, this orientation has helped to defeat that. And I'm only speaking on her behalf but she used to be ashamed of her body. But somehow being in this community, she shared with me, has made her less of that. She's proud of her skin, what she is and how she is. So in some respect, I can appreciate where she is now as far as mental wellbeing is.

(Note: Gabrielle is currently known as Worms, and prefers the pronouns "they" and "them". They have worked with the likes of local drag show Riot! and the Perth International Burlesque Festival. They also previously hosted their own monthly show, Sunz and is the founder of The Fruit Basket programme to train upcoming drag kings and queens. Gurmit last took the stage with Worms at the Watch It Wet – NDP 2024 Watch Party. In 2014, when Worms was 17, they went viral for penning an open letter to fast fashion retailer, Forever 21, calling them out for playing a misogynist rap song in their stores. Gurmit married his wife Melissa Wong in 1995, and they have two other children: Elliot, 22, and Mikaela, 11.)