Lilly Wachowski (formerly Andy Wachowski) wanted to come out, but after being threatened with outing by news outlets, the co-director of "The Matrix" shared a powerful, personal statement to Windy City Times.

The essay reveals that Lilly, 48, is transgender and has transitioned, following in the footsteps of her sister Lana, 50, (formerly Larry) who publicly confirmed her transition in 2012.


Here's a small piece of Lilly's statement, following the revelation that she was just visited by a tabloid journalist who threatened to out her :

"...I am one of the lucky ones. Having the support of my family and the means to afford doctors and therapists has given me the chance to actually survive this process. Transgender people without support, means and privilege do not have this luxury. And many do not survive. In 2015, the transgender murder rate hit an all-time high in this country. A horrifying disproportionate number of the victims were trans women of color. These are only the recorded homicides so, since trans people do not all fit in the tidy gender binary statistics of murder rates, it means the actual numbers are higher.

And though we have come a long way since Silence of the Lambs, 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. The so-called bathroom bills that are popping up all over this country do not keep children safe, they force trans people into using bathrooms where they can be beaten and or murdered. We are not predators, we are prey.

So yeah, I'm transgender.

And yeah, I've transitioned.

I'm out to my friends and family. Most people at work know too. Everyone is cool with it. Yes, thanks to my fabulous sister they've done it before, but also because they're fantastic people. Without the love and support of my wife and friends and family I would not be where I am today..."

Lilly continued, saying the words "transgender" and "transitioned" are hard for her "because they both have lost their complexity in their assimilation into the mainstream." She said her reality is that she's been transitioning and will continue to transition all of her life.

Read her full statement here.

The Wachowskis first came to prominence with the 1996 film "Bound," and also made "V for Vendetta," "Speed Racer," "Cloud Atlas," "Jupiter Ascending," "Sense8," and the "Matrix" series.

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