Arts & Entertainment
Transgender actor Ian Alexander says ‘The OA’ helped his family accept his identity
The ‘OA’ star won the role after seeing an open casting call
Transgender actor Ian Alexander opened up on how working on the Netflix series “The OA” helped his family accept his identity in an interview with “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Alexander, 17, shared how he first began to understand he was transgender through watching YouTube videos when he was younger.
“I was really just watching these videos on YouTube, like starting testosterone and top surgery videos and all this stuff. I didn’t really make the connection as to why I was so intrigued by these videos and so invested,” Alexander says. “It wasn’t until I was 13 when I met other trans people for the first time and I was like, ‘Wait, you’re allowed to do that? You’re allowed to change your pronouns and your name?’ That really gave me the courage to come out and accept who I was.”
Alexander says he comes from a religious family and they didn’t understand how he could be certain of his identity at such a young age. However, working on sci-fi series “The OA” helped them to better understand Alexander.
“They were kind of just like, ‘You’re too young. You don’t really understand what this means,'” Alexander says. “I think being on ‘The OA’ actually really helped them realize that I can be happy and I can be successful as a trans person and as a queer person,” he said. “Being on set for ‘The OA’was the first time I heard my mom use my correct name and pronouns, so that made my heart soar and made me realize they can accept this and other people can accept this and I can be just fully accepted for who I am in this environment.”
“The OA” creator, writer and co-star Brit Marling also appeared with Alexander and said she specifically wanted a 14-year-old Asian-American transgender actor to portray the role of Buck.
“They were telling us at the time, ‘You’re not gonna find all three of these things in the casting world,'” Marling recalled.
Marling says she put a notice for an open casting call online and received 400 submissions. Alexander, who is half Vietnamese and was 14 years old at the time, found the open casting call notice while scrolling through Tumblr and decided to audition.
Alexander revealed to DeGeneres that he hoped to see the Jordan Peele horror film “Us” for his 18th birthday but didn’t have enough money due to the high cost of living in Los Angeles and paying for health care.
“Living in L.A. is expensive, as you guys probably know. I also have a dog and a car, which have a lot of unexpected expenses,” he said. “I’m starting testosterones next week, which is something that I feel like I need in order to survive as a trans person, so I will be spending a lot of money on health care,” Alexander says.
In true DeGeneres fashion, the talk show host gifted Alexander a lifetime supply of move tickets from Fandago.
“The OA” season two is currently streaming on Netflix.
Watch the full interview below.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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