Liv Hewson, who plays teenager Van on “Yellowjackets,” has opted out of the Emmy Awards for the second season of the hit Showtime series.
Hewson, who is non-binary, said Variety on Wednesday, “There is no place for me in the acting categories. It would be inaccurate of me to introduce myself as an actress. It also doesn’t make sense to me to be lumped in with the boys. It is quite simple and not so stuffy. I can’t run for this because there’s no room for me.”
Her character, Van, is a lesbian in a relationship with her soccer teammate Taissa (played as a teenager by Jasmin Savoy Brown). Adult Van is played by “Six Feet Under” alum Lauren Ambrose, who joined the series this season and reconnects with Taissa (played as an adult by Tawny Cypress) 25 years after the accident.
The first season of the dark drama, which chronicles the desperate survival of a stranded women’s soccer team after their plane crashes in the wild, garnered seven Emmy nominations, including one for lead actress Melanie Lynskey and one for supporting actress. Cast Christina Ricci.
Emma Corrin, who played Princess Diana on season 4 of “The Crown” and is also non-binary, has also lamented the lack of gender-neutral categories. In November 2022, they told the The Los Angeles Times that “trying to justify” being nominated for awards in female categories is “difficult”. Corrin was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy in 2021, as well as for the actress categories at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice.
Recently, several award groups have chosen to go with non-gender categories, including the Independent Spirit Awards and MTV Movie Awards. In 2022, the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland also opted for non-gender acting awards.
