'Until the day I die, I will still love her': Gurmit Singh on supporting his daughter as queer icon

"At the end of the day, she is still my daughter. Until the day I die, I will still love her," said 59-year-old veteran local actor Gurmit Singh on accepting his eldest child for being a queer icon in Singapore.

Worms, 27, is a drag and burlesque artist also known as Lychee Bye.

"So she has taken that path, and it was difficult at first because she's in the queer community," Gurmit said in the new CNA series "The Assembly".

The series brought neurodivergent participants to engage in conversations with prominent figures.

"The rules were simple: There was no subject off-limits, no question turned away," CNA wrote.

"As long as she's happy, I'm happy"

Gurmit helmed the first episode of the series, where a participant asked how he came to accept his daughter becoming a "well-known icon in the queer community".

"We may have differing opinions of things, career paths, and life choices, but she's still my flesh and blood," the veteran actor replied.

He added that he reconciled and compared the situation to the time when he decided to become an actor while his parents wanted him to become a lawyer, a judge, or a policeman.

"As a parent, as long as she's happy, I'm happy."

"She's proud of her skin"

When asked if he was worried about his daughter's physical safety and mental well-being since coming out as queer, Gurmit said that being in the queer community had actually made Worms less timid.

"She used to be very, very shy. She used to be afraid of how people think of her," Gurmit said.

But Worms shared with him that coming out as queer and being in the community has "made her less like that."

"She's proud of her skin, what she is, and how she is. So, in some respect, I can kind of appreciate where she is now."

Worms has since posted on Instagram Stories about the post, clarifying that those confused should refer to her as Worms, as she changed her birth name.

"So you should call me Worms unless you're my father. Right, Dad?" she asked, as she panned to Gurmit, who agreed with her statement.

Top image via CNA's YouTube & Lychee Bye's Instagram