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Euphoria breakout Hunter Schafer is distancing herself from being labeled a transgender activist, arguing that she just happens to be “a tranny who’s famous.”
The 25-year-old actor, best known for playing Jules in HBO’s hit teen drama, addressed her trans identity in a new interview.
“I just happen to be a person who’s part of a marginalized community in the public eye, and people love to call me an activist,” she told Rolling Stone. “It’s like, ‘No. I’m just a tranny who’s famous,’ you know?”
Schafer, who transitioned at age 14, has previously called the constant conversations about her being trans “demeaning” and “reductive.”
“Especially after high school, I was sick of talking about it. I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition,” she said in an April interview with GQ, “and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.”
Schafer expressed her hopes that someday she and other queer and trans people won’t be defined by their gender or sexual identity. She admitted that she’s strategically tried to prevent her transness from being brought up in interviews at all.
“It has not just happened naturally by any means. If I let it happen, it would still be giving ‘Transsexual Actress’ before every article ever,” she said at the time.
“It’s a privilege, but it’s been very intentional,” she acknowledged. “I’ve gotten offered tons of trans roles, and I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Earlier this week, Schafer, who currently stars in her first lead role in the new horror film Cuckoo, shared concerns that filming the third season of Euphoria will be too emotional following the death of co-star Angus Cloud.
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“A lot has happened. It’s hard to talk about. We’ve had deaths. I’m going to get emotional. I think everyone feels a certain sense of anticipation for if we are supposed to do season three,” she said on an episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast.
It’s been over two years since the show’s second season premiered. Season three of the gritty drama has faced significant delays due to the cast’s conflicting filming schedules as well as the tragic death of Cloud, who played Fezco O’Neill on the show.
She revealed that there are “industry political” reasons Euphoria season three still has no production date. “But [grief] is emotionally a big part of what’s happening too,” Schafer said.
