- Antony Hegarty (also known as Antony or Anohni) has been nominated for her song 'Manta Ray',
she is the first openly transgender person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award.- Despite anticipating that she would be asked to perform because of this (Sam Smith, Lady Gaga, and The Weeknd are fellow nominees who are performing at the ceremony), she was never even considered or contacted with any kind of offer.
- Articles reported this as being due to 'time constraints', yet Dave Grohl, who is nominated for absolutely nothing, is reported to be performing.
- Was encouraged to still go, but felt shame and dread when commuting to nominee events.
- She says that when she read that the Academy Awards added that she was transgender into the 'trivia' section of their website, it was like rubbing salt in the wound.
- She clarifies that she knows that she may not have been excluded solely for being transgender, and it is likely because she is pretty unknown in the U.S.
- However, she thinks that if you follow the 'trail of breadcrumbs', that it's pretty obvious that she was excluded because Hollywood is set up to cater to cis people. Transgender people historically have obviously not been given the same treatment as cis people in Hollywood (and all of society).
- Talks about the high points of her career and the gratitude she has for popular artists, like Lou Reed, advocating for her.
- Says the Academy flies fake moral flags and waves us into submission by pretending to be more progressive than they are willing to be when it comes to action.
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