“No one wants us any more,” actor Vico Ortiz told The Guardian as opportunities for transgender performers sharply decline across television and film.
At the start of 2024, Trace Lysette felt she had reached the apex of her career after earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best lead performance in the drama Monica. She and costars graced the cover of Variety and appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show before landing a role in NBC’s Quantum Leap revival.
Instead of securing series regular offers that would have helped her buy a house, the calls stopped, bringing what she described as a “full-on ego death.” Lysette estimated she auditioned for about seven parts in 2026 and none since late spring.
Saw that Jack Haven was about to lose SAG-Aftra health insurance…made a video and then “got a lot of offers” for jobs. I’d just like to say I lost my SAG health insurance 2 yrs ago which is why I had to find money elsewhere. Sooo, if anyone has a gig. Here is me asking for help…
Vico Ortiz, a Los Angeles-based transmasculine, non-binary, and genderqueer actor known for playing Jim Jimenez in HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death, noticed a similar shift in the industry.
Ortiz told The Guardian that the only big-budget network and movie roles they auditioned for over the past two years were for white cisgender femme-leaning “lesbian light” women. The limited prospects have forced Ortiz and their peers to re-evaluate their options while impacting their ability to secure healthcare and gender-affirming care.
In late September, Jack Haven made a public plea for help on YouTube to qualify for Screen Actors Guild health insurance, asking for a production job paying $4,000. After receiving multiple offers, Lysette responded on X that she had lost her SAG-AFTRA health insurance two years prior and could also use work.
Elliot Page admitted on a September episode of the podcast On Film … With Kevin McCarthy that Hollywood was not beating down his door for his next project. Laverne Cox told The Guardian earlier this year that she had lost roughly 90% of her income over the past two years, while Asia Kate Dillon wrote last month that acting opportunities were scarce enough to require service work.
Transgender Roles Decline as Health Coverage Becomes Harder to Maintain
- Sharp Decline in Roles: GLAAD reports a 79% drop in transgender characters on television compared to the previous year.
- Health Insurance Struggles: Performers like Jack Haven and Trace Lysette have publicly highlighted the loss of SAG-AFTRA health coverage due to dwindling work.
- Industry Shift: Studios have pulled back on inclusive storytelling following political shifts and rising anti-trans rhetoric.
GLAAD Report Shows Transgender Characters on Television Dropped Significantly
Zoe Terakes appeared in A24’s Talk to Me, Hari Nef played a doctor Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and Aneesh Sheth appeared in Amazon’s Red, White and Royal Blue. GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV report analyzed television and found seven trans characters among 369 LGBTQ+ characters.
GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV report tracked scripted broadcast, cable, and streaming television from June 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026, finding only seven transgender characters out of 369 LGBTQ+ characters.
That figure marks a 79% decrease from the 33 trans characters counted the previous year and a steep drop from the record 42 trans characters in the 2021-2022 season. Two of the seven characters tracked were played by cisgender men, and because three appeared on canceled shows and four on limited series, none will return next year.
| Television Season | Total Trans Characters | Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 42 | Peak representation |
| 2024-2025 | 33 | Decline |
Raina Deerwater, GLAAD’s associate director of entertainment research and analysis and lead author of the study, noted that the complete absence of trans stories is disheartening. “Trans folks are being scapegoated,” Deerwater told The Guardian, pointing to politicians and activists pushing legislation that threatens trans rights.
Rebecca Root, a trans British actor known for Boy Meets Girl and The Queen’s Gambit, explained that studio decision-makers fear backlash from reactionaries. “So the studios think: ‘Well, the audiences don’t want to see trans things, so we won’t make trans storylines or have trans characters,'” Root told The Guardian. She added that fear of cancel culture leaves executives paralyzed.
Performers Pursue Independent Projects Amid Industry Shifts
Josie Totah appears in Amazon’s Carrie TV series, Yenesi stars in La Bola Negra, and Hunter Schafer leads Amazon Prime’s Blade Runner series. Ortiz has turned to independent projects, audiobook narration, and voice acting, describing the shift as breaking up with the industry.
“We’re never going to be silenced,” Ortiz told The Guardian. “We’re going to find our spotlight. Whether you all like it or not.” Root expressed similar faith that the pendulum will swing back over time.
“We’ve been here before, and we’ve got out of it before,” Root told The Guardian. “We’ve come through on the other side, and we’ve lived through it. We will come through again.”
