Zendaya ‘speechless’ after Emmy nomination – but Euphoria fans furious at Hunter Schafer snub
Hunter Schafer and Zendaya in Euphoria. (HBO)
Euphoria star Zendaya said she was “speechless” after being nominated for her first Emmy.
Zendaya – who plays Rue in the hit HBO drama – gushed on Instagram after she was nominated for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, her first-ever nod at TV’s most illustrious awards.
“I’m honestly speechless,” she wrote.
“My heart is just overflowing with love and gratitude. I’m so incredibly honoured to work beside the talented people that I get to call family.
“I am a small piece of a big beautiful puzzle and I’m so proud of all of you.”
Euphoria received six Emmy nominations in total, coming mostly from technical categories such as costume, make-up and music.
Zendaya’s Emmy nomination came as the Television Academy honoured a record number of people of colour – 36 actors and six hosts, according to Deadline, more than the previous high of 38, and a marked increase on last year’s 26.
However, the Academy remains slow to recognise LGBT+ talent. While 11 acting nods were given to members of the community, and a further seven queer hosts were nominated, many trans talents were ignored.
Two trans actors are up for awards at the 2020 Emmys — Laverne Cox, nominated for her work on the final season of Orange is the New Black, and Rain Valdez, who played Belle Jonas in the YouTube series Razor Tongue — but many others were left dissapointed.
Euphoria fans in particular were disappointed that Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules, was snubbed.
hunter schafer not getting an emmy nomination for euphoria because the academy is transphobic is my villain origin story pic.twitter.com/kfOU9i1qEJ— abi (@atheabii) July 28, 2020
Who is Meryl Streep and why did she steal Hunter Schafer’s Emmy nomination?— ًًًًًً (@ASadDisco) July 28, 2020
Schafer’s turn as trans teen Jules has been consistently named the show’s breakout performance, and is a rare example of a trans actor getting to play an authentic trans role on mainstream television.
Sadly, her snub was part of a wider pattern that blighted the Emmy nomination announcement.
The cast of Pose have spoken out after the Television Academy failed to give any of the trans Black and Latinx members of its cast nominations.
Despite the show receiving almost universal acclaim off the back of characters such as Candy Ferocity (Angelica Ross) and Blanca Evangelista (Mj Rodriguez), the show’s sole nomination went to its biggest cis star, Billy Porter (Pray Tell).
“Something about trans people not being honoured on a show about trans people who created a culture to honour ourselves because the world doesn’t,” Indya Moore (Angel) tweeted after the Emmy nominations were announced, her words echoed by Ross.
