‘Here I am’: Chelsea Manning releases first photo of herself after prison
World, meet Chelsea Manning.
Not the one wearing a long blonde wig, heavy eyeliner and dark lipstick in a grainy, black-and-white selfie published countless times by media outlets.
This is Chelsea Manning now, in glamorous makeup, a chic short hairstyle, a bold coral lip color and just a shadow of cleavage.
“Okay, so here I am everyone!! =P” she tweeted, clearly needing time to acquaint herself with emojis.
Okay, so here I am everyone!! =Phttps://t.co/NuyZlcWfd9#HelloWorld pic.twitter.com/gKsMFTYukO
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) May 18, 2017
She released the new photo on Thursday, the day after she walked out of the military prison at Fort Leavenworth.
Manning, a transgender woman formerly known as Pfc. Bradley Manning, was convicted in 2013 of providing nearly 750,000 classified military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks. President Barack Obama commuted her 35 year court-martial sentence in January.
Documentary filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins took Manning’s new photo, the ACLU told NBC News. Hawkins is making a documentary about Manning’s life after prison called “XY Chelsea.”
The Oklahoma native has not revealed where she is now but shared her first post-prison activities on social media, where she is @xychelsea on Twitter and xychelsea87 on Instagram.
“So, im already enjoying my first hot, greasy pizza,” she tweeted on Wednesday morning.
So, im already enjoying my first hot, greasy pizza https://t.co/ctZ8NdrV16#ChelseaIsFree pic.twitter.com/NZR9cePsFb
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) May 17, 2017
She and her companions raised a glass of bubbly, too.
Here's to freedom and a new beginning.https://t.co/isnBy72rbO#chelseaisfree pic.twitter.com/ZLjIv4W1We
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) May 18, 2017
She showed off new footwear, a pair of black Converse. (Social media applauded her product placement savvy.)
First steps of freedom!! https://t.co/kPPWV5epwa#ChelseaIsFree pic.twitter.com/0R5pXqA1VN
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) May 17, 2017
Transgender women showed off theirs, too, in solidarity.
@MagsVisaggs pic.twitter.com/t1sZv1V0c0
— Colette (↙↙↙) (@_electrocutie) May 17, 2017
#ChucksForChelsea Taken in 2003. Rock on. pic.twitter.com/fjjJGSCyDP
— Stephanie (@StephVirDied) May 17, 2017
This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 3:37 PM with the headline "‘Here I am’: Chelsea Manning releases first photo of herself after prison."