Austrian drag queen, Conchita Wurst has been forced reveal her HIV status after an ex-boyfriend threatened to go public with the information.
Taking to Instagram, Conchita Wurst, who won Eurovision in 2014, said that she “will not give anyone the right to frighten me or affect my life.”
“I have been HIV-positive for many years. This is actually irrelevant to the public, but an ex-boyfriend is threatening to go public with this private information, and I will not give anyone the right to frighten me or affect my life.”
In an English statement, she added: ‘Since I received the diagnosis, I have been in medical treatment, and for many years without interruption I have been below the detection limit, which means I am unable to transmit the virus.
“Until now, I did not want to go public with this information for a number of reasons, only two of which I’ll mention: first and foremost my family, who know everything and have been supporting me since day one. I would have gladly spared them the attention connected to the HIV-status of their son, grandson and brother. Likewise, my friends have been aware of this for quite some time and are dealing with it with an impartiality, that I would wish everyone concerned.
“Secondly, it is information that, in my opinion, is almost exclusively relevant to those with whom sexual contact would be an option.”
Wurst further explained that she hoped her decision to go public helped “lessen the stigmatisation of people who have become infected with HIV.”