D. Smith has announced he is detransitioning and will now live as a man after 12 years as a transgender woman.
The “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” alum, 51, shared the news in an Instagram post on Friday, revealing a decision he said had been unfolding over several months. Smith, a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter who has worked with Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry and Ciara, told followers he would now be “living and presenting as a man and using he/him pronouns.”
“For most of my life, I’ve followed my heart, even when the path wasn’t easy to understand,” he wrote.
Smith was deliberate in framing the announcement not as a rejection of his past but as an evolution from it. “Over the last twelve years, I lived my life publicly as a transgender woman,” he continued. “Those years weren’t a mistake. They were real. They introduced me to extraordinary people, profound experiences, and lessons that I will always carry with me forever.”
The VH1 personality added that this latest chapter had shown him something unexpected about his identity. “This isn’t about erasing my past,” he emphasized. “Living my life as a woman for 12 years showed me the man that I wanted to become.”
Smith’s history with the franchise made him a notable figure in reality television. He became the first transgender person to appear on “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” during Season 5 in 2016, a role he embraced as a platform for visibility. “I realized that the more trans people who are in the light will create awareness for trans people,” he said at the time, according to The Post. “We are all just trying to live, and it’s great to have this platform, so I’m very happy to be on the show.”
That appearance had come two years after he first came out as trans in 2014, a move that drew significant backlash at the time.
In his Friday post, Smith made clear his stance toward the transgender community had not shifted with his own transition. “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,” he wrote.
The musician described his life as one of constant growth, saying he had chosen “purpose over fear” even when facing adversity. He also hinted that more of his story would emerge eventually. “There is much more to this journey than can’t fit into this statement,” he noted. “When the time is right, I’ll share that story in full.”
“Until then, thank you for allowing me space to continue growing,” Smith concluded.
The announcement drew an outpouring of support in the comments, including a lengthy message from “Pose” actress Indya Moore, a trans woman. “Our experience in transness is so much more complex than just being trans — though our experience is siloed that way — but being trans is just one of the various facets of being a Human being — and being by a human being is glorious reflection of so many ways life exists,” Moore wrote.
“God bless you, may you be protected, and free of any harm people whose hearts are swollen with hatred and resentment may target you with,” she added. “May peace, grace and mercy be showered upon you through all your days, in this life and the next.”
Smith’s return to male presentation marks a significant turn for someone who had been a visible transgender figure in hip-hop and reality television spaces, where such representation remains rare. His initial casting on “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” was seen as a breakthrough moment for trans visibility in the franchise.
The full timeline for Smith’s continued public appearances or any planned projects following the announcement has not been disclosed.