Aja, the acclaimed rapper and drag performer known from RuPaul’s Drag Race, has announced plans to sue the United States government after her newly issued passport came back with a male gender marker — despite her previous passport listing her as female.
The 31-year-old performer, who came out as transgender in 2021, had all her documentation updated accordingly, including a passport reissued with a female (“F”) marker. But when she applied for a replacement, the new document came back marked “M” for male, a change she never requested.
Aja expressed outrage at the change, calling it a violation of her constitutional rights. “Now I’m being forced to choose between my safety and my career — between flying with a passport that outs me at every checkpoint, or cancelling tens of thousands of dollars in international work I’m booked for,” she wrote in a passionate Instagram post.
The situation reflects a troubling trend for transgender individuals dealing with U.S. federal documentation. Earlier this year, actor Hunter Schafer also received a passport with an incorrect male gender marker. Canadian singer Bells Larsen cancelled parts of her U.S. tour over similar trans-related policy hurdles.
According to Aja, when she tried to escalate the issue, the U.S. Department of State claimed her gender marker had been “updated to match their records” and refused to amend the error or escalate the case. Aja contends this move is part of a broader rollback on trans recognition under current federal policies.
“This isn’t a clerical error. This is a federal fumble with my life in the crosshairs,” she said. “And if they thought I’d carry this passport in silence? They forgot who the f**k I am. I’m not going down. I’m going public. I’m going legal. And I’m dragging the system with me!”
She plans to sue on the basis that the State Department’s actions infringed upon her First Amendment right to self-expression and Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law.
Aja’s reappearance on the recent season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars saw her embracing both her bisexuality and nonbinary identity. Notably, in 2018, she distanced herself from the label of “drag queen”, a decision she says led to significant financial hardship, including almost becoming homeless.
“It was bad,” Aja told Them. “In the middle of that, All Stars 6 happened, and Kylie Sonique Love won. Something clicked. I could be a trans woman and do drag. That could be me.”
Despite setbacks, Aja remains resolute, determined to take her case public and challenge the system that, she says, has marginalised and endangered her.
