Yellowjackets star opts out of Emmys over gendered categories
Yellowjackets star Liv Hewson won't be submitting themselves to this year's Emmy Awards.
The non-binary actor, who stars as teenage Van in the popular horror series, said they made the decision because of the separation of acting categories into male and female.
"There's not a place for me in the acting categories," they told Variety. "It would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress. It neither makes sense for me to be lumped in with the boys. It's quite straightforward and not that loaded. I can't submit myself for this because there's no space for me."
The publication revealed Showtime's plans for acting submissions, with Hewson among the contenders for a supporting drama actress award.
Related: Yellowjackets star responds to episode 4 cliffhanger in season 2
They continued: "We're not going to start awarding best female and male director, or female or male cinematographer because we all understand that implicitly would be insulting. You can keep things as they are right now – I just won't be participating."
Campaigners have lobbied for gender-neutral categories in awards, with The Grammys becoming one of the first ceremonies to make the change in categories in 2012, followed by the MTV Movie Awards in 2017.
The British Independent Film Awards (Bifa) adopted gender-neutral categories for the first time in 2022, with festival co-director Deena Wallace telling Screen Daily: "You start to think: 'Why do we have this split? We don't do this in the directing category or any other category. What are the pros or cons?' We looked at the kinds of performances we were seeing that don't necessarily fit the pattern of leading and supporting cast."
Related: Yellowjackets' Melanie Lynskey breaks down contrast between Shauna and her The Last of Us character
Meanwhile, the second season of Yellowjackets is currently airing in the US and UK, with Shauna actor Melanie Lynskey telling fans to prepare themselves for an emotional finale.
Speaking with Digital Spy, she gave a taste of what's to come: "Oh, God, how do I answer this? I was very emotional. I was very, very emotional," Lynskey said of her first reaction reading the script.
"It's a good episode. It's a really good episode. It's just… It's sad. It's also really sad. But crazy. I just remembered a thing that happens in the younger storyline, and it's crazy."
Yellowjackets season 2 airs on Showtime in the US and Paramount+ in the UK.
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