Peter Pascal, Gabrielle Union, Jamie Lee Curtis and LeBron James are just a few of the celebrities who have spoken out about trans rights in the wake of legal attacks on transgender people across the country. On March 2, Tennessee became the first state to ban public drag shows, and at the same time Governor Bill Lee signed a bill banning gender-affirming health care for youth in the state. Tennessee is the first state to pass an anti-drag bill, though according to a Feb. 5 report from NPR, at least eight others are trying to pass similar laws. Many fear that the law, which prohibits “male or female impersonators,” is designed to punish all trans people in the state.
Unfortunately, other anti-trans laws continue to make their way through other state governments, including a bill in Oklahoma that would ban insurance coverage for gender-affirming care, according to Oklahoma. And against that backdrop, at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles called for “eradicating ‘transgenderism’, as reported by rolling stone.
In this climate, many LGBTQ+ celebrities and their allies are using their platforms to highlight the importance of protecting trans people. Up front are celebrities speaking out against attacks on trans rights and supporting trans people across the country.