British Lawmaker Jamie Wallis Comes Out as Trans, Tells of Rape Ordeal
https://t.co/cbt0tKQZuN pic.twitter.com/IUaCjm9PtE"I had no intention of ever sharing this with you," the Conservative member of parliament (MP) said, in a tweet prefaced by the words "It's time"."I always imagined I would leave politics well before I ever said this out loud."But Wallis revealed he had been blackmailed in April 2020, when someone "outed" him to his father and sent photographs to other family members."He wanted £50,000 [$66,000] to keep quiet," Wallis said.
The politician involved the police, who he said "were so supportive, so understanding," and the blackmailer pled guilty and was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison."For a while it seemed as though I would be able to get on with things and move on.
Being an MP and hiding something like this was always going to be tough, but I arrogantly assumed I was up for it," Wallis said in the statement."Well, I'm not," said Wallis, who has represented the Welsh constituency of Bridgend since 2019.Wallis then revealed that he had been the victim of a rape in September last year.
A man he met online raped him after Wallis refused to have sex without the man wearing a condom."I have not been myself since this incident and I don't think I will ever recover," said Wallis, 37."It is not something you ever forget, and it is not something you ever move on from," said Wallis, who specified in a follow-up statement that he's still using "he/him" pronouns.Wallis then shared that he's not OK and "things have really taken a tumble" after the assault, saying he crashed his car on November 28, 2021 and fled the scene overwhelmed by PTSD.Wallis was arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit following the incident.Wallis' statement came after a team-bonding dinner.
