Jameela Jamil addresses feud rumours with Bella Ramsey over gendered awards categories
Jameela Jamil (L) denies feud with Bella Ramsey (R) over gender neutral awards comments. (Getty)
Jameela Jamil has shut down speculation that she’s feuding with The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey over the topic of gendered award categories.
She-Hulk star Jameela Jamil is the latest celebrity to consider the best way to adapt gendered award categories to include non-binary and gender non-conforming nominees. Non-binary artists such as Emma Corrin, Emma D’Arcy, Sam Smith, Justin David Sullivan and Bella Ramsey have all called for more inclusive categories.
Events such as the Brit Awards and WhatsOnStage awards have already taken the gender neutral category leap, with big-name awards such as the BAFTAs and Oscars potentially following suit.
As ceremonies move towards gender-neutral categories, female stars such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Jamil want to make sure women “are not completely shut out” – something the Brit Awards were slammed for after compiling an all-male Artist of the Year shortlist earlier this year.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday (18 June), Jamil posted screenshots from her recent Instagram story questioning if it “would 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 awards shows”.
Hoping to avoid the “growing ire” of women losing out year on year, Jamil added: “I don’t think it will help women or non-binary people to minimise the amount of possible winners.
“We should look to expand the possibilities so gender non-conforming people and women have a fair shot in an industry that for a long time struggled to treat others equal to men.”
Thousands of people have commented their own takes on the controversial matter, including none other than genderfluid rising star Bella Ramsey who shared their thoughts on their Instagram Story.
They re-shared Jamil’s post alongside a screenshot of their comment which reads: “I feel weird about there being a whole new category. I think it’s more about language … I would love award categories to be ‘Actress / Non-Binary Performer’ and ‘Actor / Non-Binary Performer’ – then the performer can be submitted to their preferred category.
“It’s not a perfect solution, but that’s my take on it. I think it’s more about making us feel seen and included rather than categorised.”
However, after people online began to speculate that the pair were were feuding, Jamil posted her own response to Instagram to clarify that they were in fact swapping “lovely messages” on the topic.
“To anyone who thinks myself and Bella Ramsey are at odds, we are not, we are DMing really lovely messages and just discussing it together as everyone should because we are all in this together,” Jamil wrote.
“They are lovely and wonderful and I love that they are saying what they think is best. It is so needed. I am deferential to whoever is most qualified to make this decision …
“My post clearly states that I am just asking. I’m not telling anyone what to do. We all want the same thing, equal opportunities for all. We are all on the same side here. The side of love and of men not just sweeping all the awards because the industry is still a little behind.”
Jamil later hit back at accusations of being a ‘TERF’ [trans-exclusionary radical feminist] with another post to her story. “My words were either not being read properly or deliberately taken out of context, and hyperbolised … suddenly people were saying ‘Trans women are women’ to me, as if I don’t f**king know that.
“And I wasn’t talking about trans women competing in women’s categories, I never had an issue with that.”
She went onto share several DMs to her story from fans giving their perspective on the debate.
Ramsey has also previously spoken up about how “uncomfortable” they are with gendered Emmy categories in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“The categories at the moment feel extremely gendered with the language around them,” the 19-year-old actor explained. “I don’t want the limitations in terms of the language in the categories to be a reason that non-binary actors like me can’t be celebrated …
“And it can open up a conversation about how it feels – as long as I’m aware of the fact that it’s not ideal, but also that finding alternatives is really complex.
“For [non-binary people] to have a say and be part of those discussions and those conversations, that’s really important … I just hope there’s more space for non-binary people to be recognised within [future] categories.”
Major awards including the Oscars, the Tonys and the Emmys maintain gendered categories, although the Grammys has hosted gender neutral awards since 2012.
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