Jamie Lee Curtis says her Oscar has they/them pronouns in honour of her trans daughter
Academy Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis continues to be the ultimate trans ally after proclaiming her Oscar goes by they/them pronouns.
The Everything Everywhere All At Once star, who won Best Supporting Actress at the 2023 Oscars on Sunday (12 March), has been on a post-awards victory parade.
While speaking with The Today Show about her win, she whipped out the coveted trophy, stroking it and saying: “Here they are!”
The presenters responded by asking: “Have you named her?” to which the Freaky Friday actor gave the most heartwarming response, dedicating it to her trans daughter Ruby.
“In support of my daughter Ruby I’m having them be a they/them. I’m just gonna call them ‘they/them’ and they are doing great, they are settling in,” Jamie Lee Curtis said.
“In my life I never thought in a million years that I would have this couple of days. I am very moved by the whole thing,” she said through tears.
“In support of my daughter Ruby, I’m having them be a ‘they/them,’” Jamie Lee Curtis said about her #Oscars trophy. pic.twitter.com/h9Ik0SNBzE
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 14, 2023
Ruby publicly came out in 2021, and since then, Curtis has been a consistent voice of support for trans rights and greater inclusivity within the industry.
Curtis gave Ruby a shout-out during her Oscars acceptance speech, dedicating part of her win to “my beautiful husband Christopher Guest, our daughters Annie and Ruby”.
Jamie Lee Curtis talks gender-neutral awards
Speaking backstage after her Oscar win, Curtis was asked about inclusivity at the awards, particularly when it comes to women and gender-neutral categories.
She told reporters: “Obviously I would like to see a lot more women be nominated so there is gender parity in all the areas and branches. I think we are getting there but we are not anywhere near there.
“Of course that inclusivity involves the bigger question which is, how do you include everyone when there are binary choices, which is very difficult.
“As the mother of a trans daughter, I completely understand that and yet to de-gender the category also, I’m concerned will diminish the opportunities for women which is also something I have been working hard to promote.
“So it is a complicated question, but I think the most important thing is inclusivity and more women.”
In light of increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the US and vitriol directed at the trans community in mainstream media, Curtis has previously spoken about her fears, and pushed for change.
“The level of hatred … [It’s] as if we haven’t learned from fascism, [as if] we haven’t learned what the result of that is: The extermination of human beings. That is terrifying. Jamie Lee Curtis is scared and you should be too. And Jamie Lee Curtis has a voice and she’s trying to use it, and you should too.
“And that’s how we change things. We think about them, we learn about them and then we use our voices to bring attention to them and fight against them.”