Arts & Entertainment
Amazon series ‘Jack Ryan’ under fire for including transphobic slur
Viewers slammed the show and John Krasinski on Twitter
Amazon Prime’s new series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” is facing criticism for using a transphobic slur.
In one episode, a character jokingly asks another character how he got a black eye.
“Did you accidentally pick up another tr*nny on Fremont Street?” the character says.
The slur was slammed by Eliel Cruz, NYC Anti-Violence Project communications director, on Twitter. Cruz also made reference to the murders of trans women Dejanay L. Stanton and Vontashia Bell.
“This shit is repulsive @jackryanamazon. Trans women die from pick up violence. This isn’t funny. This is real life,” Cruz tweeted.
This shit is repulsive @jackryanamazon. Trans women die from pick up violence. This isn’t funny. This is real life. pic.twitter.com/S6782JwrSb
— Eliel Cruz (@elielcruz) September 1, 2018
Other people soon followed suit and called out the show on Twitter.
I’m a trans man & I was so excited for this show. This part came on & I wanted to cry I can’t watch it anymore cause of this line. Trans people are attacked everyday for just existing & the use of this slur advocates for that kind of treatment especially towards trans women
— august ⚣ (@boytoy_tae) September 2, 2018
The “joke” is that he wasn’t able to beat up a transwoman. Not only does this normalize violence against trans people, it reinforces the toxic notion that transwoman merely existing represent an existential threat to the fragile masculine identity of cis men.
— No Ice Please PDX (@1plus2arrows) September 1, 2018
It’s funny because he became violent when realising he was with a trans women, forcing her to try and defend herself. Hopefully he didn’t murder her. What a funny joke this is.
— Regular Robyn (@WriteyFolks) September 1, 2018
Some viewers specifically addressed John Kransinki who stars as the title character and serves as executive producer on the series.
Hey @johnkrasinski wanna comment on this since you’re the face of this show that uses transphobic language and implies violence against a trans person?
— Ingrid Ostby (@ingridostby) September 1, 2018
I’d also like to know, @johnkrasinski. You’re an EP on the show too, so it’s not like you can claim to just be the talent.
— Luca Beale (@brewstronomy) September 1, 2018
Both Amazon and Krasinski have not commented on the controversy.
Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering the @NatlCannaFest at RFK Stadium for @WashBlade . Stop by the LGBTQ+ booth and pick up a paper if you are here. pic.twitter.com/is7hnsaPns
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) April 20, 2024
Theater
‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith
A ‘fully autobiographical’ work from out artist Adil Mansoor
‘Amm(i)gone’
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W.
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net
“Fully and utterly autobiographical.” That’s how Adil Mansoor describes “Amm(i)gone,” his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, it’s his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’s Greek tragedy “Antigone” into Urdu. Throughout the journey, there’s an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother.
Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where he’s a busy theater maker. He’s also the founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create “Amm(i)gone”?
ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of “Antigone” a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. It’s about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?
I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs.
BLADE: Are you more director than actor?
MANSOOR: I’m primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. I’ve done different versions including Zoom. Woolly’s is a new production with the same team who’ve been involved since the beginning.
I love solo performance. I’ve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward “performance” and I haven’t “acted” since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention.
BLADE: Describe your mom.
MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me.
She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.
BLADE: So, you weren’t exactly hiding your sexuality?
MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If I’m in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what I’m doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what I’m putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full.
So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.
BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia?
MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. I’ve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways.
BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh?
MANSOOR: I’ve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. It’s beautiful, it’ affordable, and there is support for local artists. There’s a lot of opportunity.
Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career.
BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with “Amm(i)gone”?
MANSOOR: What I’m sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this.
I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.