YouTuber Oli London said he is detransitioning to a man after spending the last six months living as a Korean woman.
The influencer told E! News that though he was "temporarily satisfied" with who he was in the past, he realized he no longer wanted to "change and go through my transition anymore." The 32-year-old said in the statement that he is "detransitioning back to male," and his Instagram bio now lists his pronouns as he/him.
"I have taken some time to truly reflect on being a woman and have realized it is simply not for me," London shared with E! News. "However beautiful I felt with long hair and more feminine features I now want to go back to being my original self—a biological man."
He said he was going to travel to Bangkok, Thailand soon to "undergo genital reassignment surgery and get breast implants as well as more facial surgery to become a 100% Korean woman," aiming to base his look on K-Pop singer Rosé from Blackpink.
The YouTuber said he has shaved all of his hair "to become a man again," and is auctioning the hair on eBay to raise funds to "donate to Iranian women's charities" and "to help the women of Iran."
However, London said he is planning to stop any further operations.
"I hope I can live happily now being back to myself and plan to stop undergoing anymore plastic surgery procedures which I have previously undergone in my obsessive quest chasing perfection," he wrote, "which I have come to realize is unattainable."
London has previously undergone 32 surgeries—including six nose jobs, an eye surgery, a facelift, a brow lift, a temple lift and a teeth procedure—to look like K-Pop group BTS' Park Jimin. In September, London apologized to Jimin and the Asian community for "trying to become another person," and said he "still identifies as Korean." (London said in a 2021 YouTube video that they were no longer "British," but "Korean.")
In his new statement, he said he is publicly sharing his detransition in an effort to reach others.
"I support all people and support the trans community and have experienced what it's like to be trans and the hardships and social stigma they face on a daily basis," London wrote, "and I just want to share my detransition just to help others who may also be confused so that they don't go through with a transition unless they are 100% certain it is right for them."
London's actions in the past have sparked backlash on social media, with a non-binary Korean user writing on Twitter, "The fact that they are acting like it's genuine and that it's part of a ‘journey' due to [...] ‘identity issues' really irks me. It's a mockery of trans people, it's cultural appropriation."
Other users also weighed in, adding, "Sorry you have to change your body to feel loved and welcome but that doesn't make you Korean."