Apple Watts is reaping the benefits of her breakout stardom on Love & Hip Hop Hollywood Season 5. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of sudden fame is the tendency for every little rumor and innuendo to get overanalyzed — and for some of them to calcify into fact.

While putting together the Apple Watts before and after photo gallery you’ll find below, we came across one such rumor: Is Apple Watts transgender, and did she used to be a man? It seems fairly obvious that this particular bit of gossip was started either to slander Apple or to drum up some quick hits in connection with her appearance in a hugely popular music video a couple of years back. We were able to find the source of the rumor, and can hopefully help disprove it.

Is Apple Watts transgender? Did she used to be a man?

It looks like the initial source of the Apple Watts transgender rumors is an MTO article originally published in June of 2016. That article — originally headlined “Rapper Future Cast A TRANSGENDER Twerker In New Video?” — is no longer live on MTO’s site, but you can see the headline and the first paragraph archived at Trendolizer. Here’s a screencap:

The video in question is for Future’s track “Wicked.” Apple appears throughout, in all her twerking glory; we catch our first glimpse of her at about the 1:00 mark.

Additionally, MTO’s June 8th, 2016 Facebook post promoting their article is still live. That post features a longer headline than the screencap above: “MTO SHOCK VIDEO: Did Rapper Future Use A TRANSGENDER In His New Video . . . Cause Something Is Dangling BETWEEN That ‘GIRLS’ Legs!!!” Here’s what that looks like:

The original Facebook post actually came to the attention of Apple herself. Shortly after MTO posted it, Apple responded to the article with a pointed comment in which she declared “I’m a woman” and reaffirmed what many commenters had already suspected: that the “something…dangling” between her legs in the video was just a part of the costume she was wearing.

We screencapped Apple’s full comment; if it’s too small, we’ve also reprinted the exact text below:

I have 3 kids im a woman. Thats my outfit from my costume. It sad how media ppl fall and hate r try bring ppl down.i work my ass of to make a name for myself .but im a humble crazy wild gurl who live life to the fullest im used to this type of stuff but what is disrespectful As a mother and as a woman who carried my children that this site do and make up stuff like this. I was happy when the video came out now im like wtf but im still loving my moves and body .my ass control. Is a talent.. To me i workout n hustle hard n now go to college.so god blessed me n everyone may not think im pretty but i dont think most is either inside..but god is good n im blessed so bless you guys and the haters that will hate after this.internet. talkers,an ppl that down talk and assuming. Sh!t is sad but everyone is beautiful. If u a man a woman a transgender. Gay bi and a hater i love everyone

Apple Watts before and after photos reveal the same woman LHHH fans are flocking to

If you look at a string of photos of Apple over the past few years, it seems pretty clear that she’s never undergone the sort of radical physical transformation that these transgender rumors suggest. We’ll also point out that, though she’s currently retired from stripping, Apple was a professional stripper for over a third of her life — it would be damn near impossible to keep a secret like that while undressed so often for such a long time. Check out this clip of Apple dancing at Barbery Coast in Gardena CA back in 2010 for visual proof; there’s also this Apple Watts stripping clip at LA’s Sin City nightclub, filmed in early 2012, to consider.

(And not to belabor the point, but exactly how is Apple supposed to pull off her famous “Bottle Girl” dance move if she’s got something like that to hide?)

On that note, the earliest legit and dated Apple Watts before and after pic we came across is from 2011:

Here’s a trio of shots from 2012 — the first looks to be between performances; the second is backstage at one of the strip clubs Apple used to frequent; and the third is a near-silhouette of Apple posing during a photo shoot:

Here’s Apple back in 2014, rocking a narrower face (though the hat she’s wearing also makes her features look more compact):

And here’s a more recent shot — a selfie Apple snapped in late 2017, just months away from her Love & Hip Hop Hollywood debut:

One Apple Watts before and after pic the star recently shared herself goes back even farther. Apple didn’t offer a date in the caption, but did say that it was taken when she was a teen. Given that Apple is 33 now, the pic has to be at least 14 years old, meaning it was taken no later than 2004:

“A friend sent this picture to me lol a troubled teen lol wild days,” Apple captioned, making fun of the gossip about her allegedly rough upbringing.

Finally, we managed to uncover a short self-made video from early in Apple’s stripping career. The ultimate in Apple Watts before and after looks, the 25-second clip depicts Apple twerking in a thong in front of her bedroom dresser back in June of 2007. Because it’s age-sensitive according to YouTube’s community guidelines, we can’t embed the clip in this article; click here to view it. (It’s probably NSFW, so beware.)

Apple will continue to delight with new episodes of Love & Hip Hop Hollywood Season 5, every Monday night at 8 on VH1.

(Photo credits: Apple Watts before and after via Instagram, Twitter, Trendolizer.com)

John Sharp is a Starcasm’s chief editorial correspondent-at-large. Tips: E-mail at john@starcasm.net or send on Twitter at @john_starcasm.