The Crown star Emma Corrin–who played Princess Diana in the show's fourth season–opened up about the backlash surrounding her coming out as nonbinary.
On April 7, 2021, fans were confused as to whether Corrin had come out of the closet after the actor hinted at their gender identity in an Instagram post in which they dressed up as a bride.
They wrote in the caption:
“Ur fave queer bride.”
In July, Corrin updated their Instagram bio to include they/them pronouns and posted a photo of themselves wearing a DIY breast binder using boxing wrap.
"Some time before I bought my first proper binder," they wrote, adding:
"It’s all a journey right. Lots of twists and turns and change and that’s ok! Embrace it."
"Bind safely, find what works for you," the actor advised and tagged their business of choice, LGBTQ+ and trans-owned business gc2b.
Unfortunately, the post was flooded with toxic comments denouncing Corrin's subtle gender identity announcement.
In an interview with Vanity Fair as part of the magazine's annual Hollywood issue, the actor admitted they didn't disclose their decision to come out to their team.
“I might have [messaged them] over WhatsApp and just said, 'I’m going to post this.'"
"I don’t think there was any big discussion about it."
They acknowledged the unilateral PR move was regrettable after receiving a barrage of "hate" as a response.
“Naively, maybe, it took me aback how much hate I got for that. It was quite a reality check.”
However, the resulting side effect was also tremendous support from people who felt they were alone in their gender ambivalence.
Said Corrin:
“For a lot of people, it did help."
"Especially around conversation of gender and stuff, it does help a lot of people to see someone living as a non-binary person in the world.
“I know how much other people’s accounts helped me, that’s my motivation for keeping my social media at the moment.”
Those who struggled in their self-discovery journey expressed gratitude for starting a conversation promoting visibility.
And their allies also expressed praise.
Corrin can be seen playing female-presenting roles like Marion in the British LGBTQ+ drama My Policeman–starring Grammy Award winner Harry Styles as a closeted gay policeman–and in The Crown's fourth season as Princess Diana, who like Corrin also faced unjustifiable public scrutiny.
But the actor hopes to change that when the career opportunity becomes available.
“There aren’t a lot of non-binary parts out there,” they said.
“We need to be supporting queer writers and developing projects and welcoming these narratives into the creative space.”
They continued:
“But also, being nonbinary for me is a very fluid space where it’s not a rejection of femininity or masculinity, it’s sort of an embrace of both."
"My experience on this earth has been a female one, up until recently, and I still love all those parts of me."
“It’s interesting that I’m not offered male parts, but I would equally be drawn to that! I suppose it’s also what the industry sees you as, and I think, hopefully, that is shifting.”
Corrin also suggested award ceremonies should recognize gender-neutral awards.
"I don't think the categories are inclusive enough at the moment," they said in a BBC interview.
Back when they were accepting she/her pronouns, Corrin won a Golden Globe in the Best Television Actress in a Drama Series category for their performance in The Crown and was also nominated for an Emmy for the same female role.
They explained:
"It's difficult for me at the moment trying to justify in my head being non-binary and being nominated in female categories."
Corrin wondered:
"Do we need to make it specific as to whether you’re being nominated for a female role or a male role?"
“You can discuss awards and the representation there, but really the conversation needs to be about having more representation in the material itself, in the content that we are seeing for non-binary people, for queer people, for trans people, because then I think that will change a lot."
“When those parts come up, meaning more people and more actors are playing those roles then I think there will be more of an urgency with which these questions will be addressed.”
A performer who shared Corrin's ideal was non-binary Broadway actor Justin David Sullivan, who opted out of the Tonys this year after struggling to make a decision to choose between the gendered categories.
Sullivan, who plays the non-binary character of May in the musical & Juliet, made headlines for opening up about why they dropped out of the major theater awards ceremony.
The actor told Playbill:
"I was told that I had to choose [the category in which] I felt comfortable, and in that process, I struggled a lot."
“There’s nothing more that I want to empower than non-binary people, to show that it’s possible to be non-binary on Broadway, play a non-binary character on Broadway and be nominated, and possibly potentially awarded.
“I felt like I couldn’t choose. I didn’t feel right being in either category because it didn’t resonate with me."
Meanwhile, Corrin has been keeping busy preparing for Deadpool 3 in which they will star opposite Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the main villain.
Reynolds–who also serves as executive producer on the MCU film–was the first to break the news on social media, announcing:
“New addition to the family! The Deadpool family, for clarity. Which is just like a real family except with less swearing… Welcome, Emma Corrin."
On Tuesday, Corrin shared their enthusiasm on Instagram, writing:
"Actually tried out for @wrexham_afc but they put me in Deadpool instead ??"
"HOLY SH*T!!!"
"Beyond honoured to join this bonkers family thank you so much for having me @vancityreynolds @slevydirect I can’t wait."
Neither can we.
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