The Emmy Awards are facing backlash after they gave given Bella Ramsey, who is non-binary, a 'Best Actress' nomination.
The 75th installment of the prestigious Emmy Awards is set to take place on September 18, but it seems as though it's already in the midst of controversy after the nominations were announced.
While the top two contenders this year include Succession with a whopping 27 nominations, and The Last of Us with a mighty 24, the attention has shifted towards one of the actors of the latter show as they were slot under the 'Best Actress' category despite being openly non-binary.
Ramsey, 19, has been nominated alongside Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), and, Sarah Snook (Succession), though fans aren't happy about it.
In an interview with NME, the star stated that they were 'uncomfortable" submitting themselves under the category, and called for "more space" for non-binary actors to be celebrated at award ceremonies.
This idea was also stressed by fellow actress and activist, Jameela Jamil, who called for non-binary folks to have their own separate category at such shows.
Taking to Instagram last month the 37-year-old wrote: "Would it not be better to give non-binary people their own category rather than open the door for Hollywood to completely shut out women given the known disproportionate amount of men vs women winning at award shows?"
She continued: "If we now have enough non-binary talent to restructure entire award shows, which is GREAT, then we should add rather than run the accidental risk of erasing, no? I say this as an audience member because I am not going to be nominated for an Oscar anyway. I have no horse in this race."
In the caption, she also added: "I want to open more doors and create more tables, not narrow the opportunities for everyone, including GNC [gender non-conforming] people."
The news comes after Ramsey spoke to Vogue about their sexuality as well as their acting career, Ramsey revealed that they're "not 100% straight" and that they were starting to navigate the world of dating after revealing that they were non-binary the year prior.
"You never fully know who you are, it's ever-evolving. But I certainly think that people have gathered that I'm not 100 percent straight. I'm a little bit wavy, you know? That's what I like to say," they said, before adding: "I'm 19, so figuring that out's gonna be a part of my life. Relationships are so complex anyway, and if you're in the public eye, everyone having an opinion about them adds an extra layer of difficulty."
When discussing their gender identity with The New York Times back in January, the star confirmed that they are gender fluid, stressing that they "couldn't care less about pronouns."
"I guess my gender has always been very fluid," Ramsey told the outlet. "Someone would call me 'she' or 'her' and I wouldn’t think about it. But I knew that if someone called me 'he,' it was a bit exciting."
"I’m very much just a person," they added. "Being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like. But in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less."
The Emmy Awards is set to premiere on September 18.