18 Comments

Wow. What a quote from Moulton. I guess my dad didn’t love me. There were no girls soccer leagues where I grew up. My sister and I played with boys and never once worried about it. We were happy to play at all.

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You and your writing are a gift to this world. Thanks for never being a coward.

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I think it says a lot about what’s happening at PR firms in LA that no actor would pair with Stan. Granted, the celebs definitely made it clear to their reps that they won’t discuss Trump, but one must wonder about leadership at their respective PR firms.

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Yeah I think he was being kind (to use a word) blaming the generous instead of his peers, but agreed! If this was 2016, I don’t think the situation would be replicated.

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hollywood actors love to keep us humble about who they really are

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Another great pop culture recap! 10/10.

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WTF Seth Moulton- you shouldn’t say that out loud ever! Democrats weren’t progressive at all on trans rights. I had not heard about Sebastian Stan either, it’s disheartening that no actors would discuss the performance with him.

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Oh my gosh I keep trying to do Bluesky and I keep, like, hating it, and you finally put into words why: major NJHS vibes. (and I say this as someone who was in NJHS lol, and would prefer not to return to those vibes!)

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Oh obbbbviously I *also* speak as an NJHS alum, good on us for turning over new leaves etcetc!

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Thank u for this concise yet informative round up - I had not heard about the seb stan stuff! Sooo embarrassing for every single one of those actors. I (unfortunately) thought better of Zendaya & Josh O’Connor (I think they’re both in this upcoming one. Could be so wrong.) can’t wait for the cowards to be revealed !!!

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On the other topic, I fully support trans rights but at this point feel the conversation has been completely taken over by the other side and caused more people to be against something they might not even would be aware if (i.e. the multiple sports comments) . Just from the perspective of strategy, I do wonder if it would be better to refocus the conversation elsewhere and keep working on the background to protect them. Like I really wonder if they are more at risk just by this being at the center of all conversations than if it wasn’t. The reality is that it is a small percentage of people (and they deserve all the same rights of course), but the conversation has covered a lot of other topics that impact a wider segment of the population, by refocusing on those could people who have no actual vested interest in this could “forget” and leave them alone while we continue to fight for their rights without making it the main agenda item?? And please, don’t misinterpret any of what I’m saying as not caring, I’m really just thinking if there’s a better strategy because many many people have used this topic as an out of proportion excuse to make decisions that have many many other consequences for everyone and at the same time, we are not making them safer are we? I think I just want to figure our how do we move forward in the best way for all (see, I’m exhausted)

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Unfortunately, there's not a lot of work the average person can do 'in the background'. That's fairly similar to saying we should not talk so much about women's right to bodily autonomy and should instead somehow work 'in the background' to maintain/regain that right.

I have a 20-year-old trans daughter and you are right that all she and her friends want to do is quietly live their lives like anyone else. Because there are so few trans people, they're a safe target for politicians to attack. Teens are being driven to suicide by this hate and let me tell you, there's nothing quite as sobering as witnessing a 19-year-old's funeral with a casket decorated by crayon rainbows drawn by her friends, along with little messages of compassion and love.

The right has made staying quiet impossible because trans peoples' rights are being taken away. In Florida, it's currently illegal to use a public bathroom while trans. Go in the one aligning with your presenting gender and you can be arrested. Go in the birth gender one and if your presence in that space upsets anyone, then you can be arrested and charged with a sex crime - for having to pee at the mall. I'm assuming that can only apply to pre-op, as there's no real way to tell after. Then we have jolly old England, which just made all gender-affirming care illegal. Thousands of people thrown off their meds, refused surgery, and why? There is just is no 'in the background' anymore. I am not suggesting shouting about it from the rooftops, but pointing out hypocrisy and lies is always important.

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I totally agree with that and I definitely speak up when hate and disinformation is brought up around me, I just hate that the topic has been completely taken “hostage” for political sound bites that just increase fear and misunderstanding and have deviated so much from actually providing safety for trans people. I ask myself: what happened first? Politics/media generating hate or these horrible policies that then had to be discussed by the media, like would these policies be so bad if the topic hadn’t been politicized so much? Or could redirecting to other topics could lower the pressure on them?

I feel completely at a loss about how to protect trans kids/adults, and I see how bad the misinformation that haters are eating up can affect them and I wish it wasn’t there so they could leave peacefully. But you are right, it’s already out there, box is open, can’t close it back, need to counter it with love and truth. And the one thing I’ve been realizing is that we have to love and care louder than they hate, so we can maybe even things out.

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I don’t know if I blame actors for not wanting to talk about him or that movie, not sure it is an act of cowardice or if it’s the same exhaustion many of us are feeling. I’m exhausted of arguing about this whole situation and about having to remind people of all the horrible things that are happening for them to ignore them and come up with excuses. I really don’t know what good an interview like that could have brought, what would be the benefit? Maybe it was so they wouldn’t be involved in promoting a movie related to him? I’m more interested into how the movie approaches the topic, than about people who might just not want to get into a televised argument

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Please leave Twitter if you can. Please. I lost count of how many absolutely vile comments I reported only to be told "this doesn't violate our behavior guidelines" or whatever they call it. Please give BlueSky a chance.

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Your writing is great and thank you for your words!

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I watched The Apprentice a few weeks ago and thought it was a great movie in order to understand where Trump was coming from (for those of us who aren't North Americans and don't live there) and who had shaped him. Both Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong were phenomenal in the film. While I can understand where the reluctance for some actors to discuss this movie may come from (and for all I know here might be actors for whom Trump is not such a bad guy so why should they agree to be part of this and unconsciously let it slip unleashing a PR disaster?) and how they probably didn't want to give more space in media to Trump, albeit tangentially as actors on actors is about discussing performances and praising each other (loved that!), this was a lost opportunity for everyone. Glad Sebastian Stan spoke up and thanks for bringing it up to our attention. Like you, I will now be watching upcoming actors on actors with different eyes.

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Why is the NYT so obsessed with publishing these opinions

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