This Pride, we would like to take a second to highlight some positive instances of support from some superstar trans allies. Despite the consistent attacks faced by the trans community, from a certain disgraced children's author and various hateful politicians, there are still lots of people who love and support us. These are just a few of some of the world's most notable allies.
Robert De Niro
One of the worlds most famous and respected actors has recently come forward in support of his trans daughter. Airyn De Niro, introduced herself to the world this year in a beautiful interview with Them. At the time, when asked about Airyn, De Niro said: “I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don't know what the big deal is, I love all my children."
More recently, he addressed the topic again in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, stating: “Well, there's certain things you can do and certain things you can't do, but the main thing is to support your kids,”
He continued: “As long as they’re not hurting themselves, doing anything destructive or anything like that, you have to support them. Period."
The two-time Oscar winner is extremely popular with cis men and some of his most notable roles are that of gangsters or other examples of extremely toxic masculinity. In light of this, his supportive comments come as a breath of fresh air, bringing hope that his openness can inspire other cis men.
Kate Nash
With her new track ‘GERM’ Kate Nash is directly calling out She Who Shall Not Be Named and other TERFs in style. The lyrics address the recent supreme court ruling, highlighting that trans people aren’t a threat to women.
“Women are facing serious dangers not during boxing matches or from trans people needing a piss
But from actual violence that is carried out against them every week”
The song also features important statistics about misogyny and toxic masculinity. In an interview with Attitude magazine, she said:
“Feminism is dismantling systems of oppression, so to be transphobic is not feminist. Feminism has to be intersectional. So I wanted that on record, because at the moment, the loudest cultural voice in the room, who created one of the most successful things ever to come out of the UK, Harry Potter, is transphobic, and is very cruel online and very crass, and it’s just become so nasty. I just need to put this out into the world, even just so in history, this exists. I hope that it also allows other cis women and feminists to be more vocal and be less afraid to approach the subject, because I think people are afraid to talk about it.”
Kesha
Pop diva Kesha came out swinging for the dolls at London festival The Mighty Hoopla. She headlined the festival rocking a ‘Protect the dolls’ tee and brought out Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters fame to spread some queer love. They performed a mash up of the iconic queer Scissor Sisters track ‘Lets have a kiki’ and Keshas own ‘We R who we R’.
Pedro Pascal
The internet’s daddy, Pedro Pascal, has long been a vocal supporter of trans rights. Most recently, he’s been seen wearing a ‘Protect the dolls tee’ and calling She Who Shall Not Be Named a “heinous loser” in an Instagram comment under a video by writer and activist Tariq Raouf.
Pedro’s sister, Lux Pascal, is a trans actress, model and activist. Lux has appeared on a number of Chilean soap operas and dramas as well as appearing alongside Pedro in Netflix’s Narcos.
Daniel Radcliffe
Award-winning actor Daniel Radcliffe, got his start in the industry appearing as the lead role in the film adaptation of You Know Who’s books. But, in light of her constant attacks on trans people online and in the press, Daniel felt it was important to stand up for trans people. He wrote a statement, published by The Trevor Project a trans non-profit that he has supported for the last decade. In the statement, Daniel states:
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”
Jade Thirlwall
On Saturday 31 May, pop diva Jade Thirlwall led the crowd of The Mighty Hoopla, in saying “Fuck You” to She Who Shall Not Be Named. Since rising to fame in the pop group Little Mix, Jade has consistently defended the trans community. In 2021 the talented singer won a Gay Times Allyship award in 2021 and more recently commented on her responsibility to speak out against growing transphobia:
“Cancel culture is thriving right now. When you're in the public eye, it’s quite scary. I’ve always been vocal, and I’m not always going to get it right. But you can’t be a pop artist these days without speaking out on certain issues”
“We’re seeing an attack on the trans community, and with my large LGBTQ+ fanbase, I can’t sit back and not defend that community. I’m happy to face the consequences if it means doing the right thing.”
