Michaela Jaé Rodriguez isn’t about to let Hollywood dictate who she is. The trans actress, who last year became the first trans woman to ever win a Golden Globe, is motivated to go as far as she can not only as an entertainer, but as an advocate for the rights of trans people everywhere.
During a recent interview with Variety, Rodriguez talked about her journey as an actress and how she is able to ignore well-known critics of the trans community who are within her own industry. The name of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling came up in the conversation. In a recent podcast interview with the writer, Rowling compared trans activists to Death Eaters, a malevolent group of wizards and witches she created for her book series.
In past interviews, Rowling has said that trans women are not real women. Rodriguez states that comments like those coming from Rowling don’t “faze” her. “I’m not here for it,” she said. “I will always remain a trans woman. I will always call myself a trans woman. I will always refer to other biological women as cis women, in a non-derogatory way. But I’m a strong girl. I’m a strong woman. I was raised by a strong Black woman, which J.K. Rowling was not. I would love to have a conversation with her.”
Rodriguez said that if she were to sit down with Rowling to have a conversation, she believes she would find out that there is at least one trans person in her life that is fueling her animosity for all trans people. Rodriguez would like to get to the root of her issues.
“I would … let her know I’m not someone who is abrasive or who is intimidating, because I’m sure there are trans people who are intimidating her a little bit and making her feel this way,” she said. “Is there a trans person in your life that’s really making you feel a certain type of way about your womanhood? Because I can promise you that there are other trans women who will show you what it’s actually like to walk in our shoes. Because I can promise you, as a cis biological woman, you just will never understand, just as we will never understand you. But we’re women, so we have to be there for each other.”