Trans man goes viral after doing a Q&A with Grandma’s seniors book club

Singer and influencer Sasha Allen has gone viral with a recent TikTok posting.

Some of you will remember Allen from his appearance on The Voice, alongside his father, Jim, in 2021.

Sasha has since released music and established a big following online with his insights into life as a trans person.

In a posting late last week, Allen said his grandma had told him about reading a book about a young person in her book club. The grandma sent the book to Sasha, who enjoyed it. Then Grandma threw Sasha a curveball, inviting him to Facetime into the next meeting of the book club to talk about life as a trans person.

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Sasha said he found the prospect “scary” as that’s “a group of people who grew up in the 1930s and 40s, and I wouldn’t even blame them for not understanding trans people whatsoever.”

However, he went ahead and accepted his grandma’s invitation. Despite his nervousness, it all went well.

“Let me tell you, these lovely elderly people genuinely wanted to understand things. These are people who have probably never knowingly interacted with a trans person in their life, and they’re literally like ‘What does that feel like? How do you know that you’re transgender? What’s the difference between someone being homosexual and someone being transgender?’

“I got those answers easy-peasy,” said Sasha. “And I opened up the floor with my grandma’s book club. And that is so hope core.”

Sasha warned against assuming older people are anti-trans.

“In reality, a lot of people just don’t understand it and want questions answered, and, like, maybe don’t know how to use Google. Like, genuinely, don’t know how to use Google!”

Watch the video below. It’s had over 2 million views at the time of writing.

@sash1e like im talking 80 year olds with all different political affiliations . Crazy – #fyp #foryou #lgbt #trans #gay #trending #taylorswift #transgender #storytime ♬ original sound – sasha allen

One of the most well-liked replies came from author Jodi Picoult, the co-author of the novel the book club read.

“Hey Sasha! If the book was MAD HONEY then I am grateful to your grandma and also to you for being willing to have a convo with them. Hope core 💯”, said Picoult.

Sasha replied, confirming that was indeed the book.

“It was! And my grandma and I love you!”

Others loved the story but said that these book club members don’t represent all seniors.

“The key is … book club. Those are generally people who still want to learn about the human experience!” said one person, earning over 70k upticks.

Many others also loved the term “hope core”.

In a new video, Sasha said he’d informed his grandma that Jodi Picoult responded to him. His grandma expressed deep pride in Sasha. It’s adorable. Watch below.

@sash1e Replying to @Jodi Picoult this was such an insane surprise 😭 – #fyp #foryou #lgbt #trans #storytime #gay #transgender #trending #booktok ♬ original sound – sasha allen

If you never caught Sasha and his dad on The Voice, you can watch their audition below.

They made it to the final eight. After their run, they were guests on The Ellen Show. Watch below.

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The mother energy could not be stronger.