Tue 1 Mar 2016 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The first-ever transgender nominee for an Academy Award was not present at yesterday's ceremony as a protest against being snubbed by the award show's producers. Anohni Anohni, the first transgender performer ever to receive a nomination, said before the event that she would boycott it because, unlike her rivals in the Best Original Song category, she was not invited to perform. The British singer-songwriter was nominated for the song Manta Ray, which she co-wrote for the climate change documentary Racing Extinction. Nominees Sam Smith, Lady Gaga and The Weeknd were asked to sing at the ceremony and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl who wasn't nominated was asked. Anohni says she felt the decision to leave her out was “degrading”. “Everyone told me that I still ought to attend, that a walk down the red carpet would still be ‘good for my career’. Last night I tried to force myself to get on the plane to fly to LA for all the nominee events, but the feelings of embarrassment and anger knocked me back ... There I was, feeling a sting of shame that reminded me of America’s earliest affirmations of my inadequacy as a trans person. I turned around ... and went back home.” She also acknowledged she may have been excluded because she was less “commercially viable” than her competitors. Another nominee, Simple Song #3 from the film Youth, performed by the South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, was also left out of the broadcast.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 1st March 2016 - 7:29am