Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, real
name Tom Neuwirth, has come out HIV positive.
The 29-year-old singer and drag
performer made the announcement in an Instagram post.
She said that she was making her status
public after an ex-boyfriend threatened to publicly out her.
“I will not give anyone the right to
frighten me and influence my life,” she wrote.
“Coming out is better that being
outed by a third party.”
Wurst added that she has been positive
for “several years” and that her viral load is undetectable.
“I hope to give others courage and to
take another step against the stigmatization of people who, through
their own behavior or that of others, have become infected with HIV,”
she said.
She added that she kept her status
private because it is only relevant to sexual partners.
Wurst won the 2014 Eurovision
competition with the ballad Rise Like a Phoenix.