Liv Hewson, who shows off their immense talent as Van on Yellowjackets, has taken themself out of the Emmys race because the categories are gendered, and it's fairly heartbreaking.
Indeed, by a question of pure logistics, Hewson—who is nonbinary—doesn't fit in any of the acting categories, which are awarded to lead male actors, lead actresses, supporting male actors, and supporting actresses.
They revealed their choice to take their name out of the running in a new interview with Variety, saying, "There’s not a place for me in the acting categories. It would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress. It neither makes sense for me to be lumped in with the boys. It’s quite straightforward and not that loaded. I can’t submit myself for this because there’s no space for me."
Within the discussion for degendering awards categories, many have argued that cis white men would end up winning basically every award, an argument which Hewson doesn't stand by at all.
"There is an implied fatalism there, which suggests that we’ve all agreed that equality is impossible. And that’s sad," they said.
"You can keep things as they are right now—I just won’t be participating."
The actor explained why they view their choice to preemptively disqualify themself as an important one, and why they hope it keeps the conversation going. "It’s worth talking about," they said. "And I very gently and respectfully ask that people get their gears turning a little."
Hewson opened up about the implications of their gender identity with Marie Claire earlier this year. They explained that they originally didn't think they could be open about it within the entertainment industry, but that they eventually realized it was too heavy to keep quiet. But luckily, they've been happily surprised with how accepting many people in their professional life have been.
"Some days it’s tricky and then some days it’s wonderful beyond my wildest expectations," they told us.
"As I started speaking about it more, there was acceptance and love out there for me about my gender identity in a way that I did not expect." Hopefully this acceptance and love can eventually filter out to awards shows in the future as well.
