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The Melbourne drag queen who appeared in a Libra tampon advertisement that has sparked international outrage for being ‘transphobic’ has spoken out about his involvement.

The advertisement has this week been pulled from New Zealand television following a backlash.

In a message on his Facebook page Sandee Crack said he is the victim of “dragphobia” and has been unnecessarily attacked.

Crack said he was not portraying a transgender woman in the advertisement and is hurt by some of the criticism.

“I am in fact a gay man that dresses in drag as a performer. I have been doing so for many years… I have never considered myself to be transgendered and never will do,” Crack said.

“I was presented with the Libra commercial and saw it as a great opportunity to participate in a positive step towards acceptance for drag queens and gay men among the wider community.

“Libra [was] both sensitive, professional and accepting of my needs as a drag queen and as a gay man throughout the production process. I never felt for one moment that I would be depicted as a trans woman, nor do I believe that I have been.”

Crack, who said he’d received support from trans, gay and straight people around the world, said conscious decisions were made during the advertisement’s shoot to keep his underarm hair and a strapless dress was chosen to accentuate his broad shoulders.

“If you look carefully you will notice my stubble is slightly visible,” Crack said.

“They also ensured I looked much taller than the girl next to me. I was shown the ad prior to release and I was thrilled with it.

“I believe strongly that by putting a drag queen into the mainstream media, we are one step closer to acceptance and this is something I am very proud to be part of.”

Crack said he supports the trans community in their fight for acceptance

“Unfortunately a small portion of the trans community have chosen to view the ad as a personal attack on their fight to be viewed as equal women within society. This is a fight I also feel strongly about and I hope to help educate the wider community on.”

“However, I feel hurt that representing myself as a drag queen on television and playing out a common place scenario in my life has lead to a clear “dragphobia” among some transgendered individuals who wish to pull the plug on something that reflects true honesty about the life of a drag queen.

“A drag queen is a man in women’s clothing and if that offends a trans woman I am afraid I cannot apologise, as by doing so I am apologising for being me.”