“Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”
–Jeffrey Tambor, in a statement to Deadline, announcing that he won’t be returning for the fifth season of Amazon’s Transparent.
Tambor, who plays lead character Maura Pfefferman, has been accused of sexual harassment and lewd conduct by two transgender actresses on the show, Van Barnes, who is also Tambor’s former assistant, and Trace Lysette.
Barnes accuses Tambor of making lewd comments towards her and groping her, while Lysette says he made sexual remarks towards her and thrust his penis against her while on set.
As previously reported, during the incident Lysette was wearing a “flimsy top and matching short shorts” for a pajamas scene. “Upon seeing me in my costume, Jeffrey sexualized me with an over the top comment,” Lysette said. “Then later, in between takes, I stood in a corner on the set…. Jeffrey approached me. He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrusts back and forth against my body.
“I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pajamas and I pushed him off of me.”
Tambor denies claims of harassment, saying his actions were “misinterpreted,” but that he cannot continue to work on the show as a result.
He told Deadline that playing Maura Pfefferman, for which he received two Emmys, “has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life.” However, he added that it has “become clear over the past weeks…that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”
“I’ve already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue,” Tambor continued. “Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”
U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is the latest high-profile Democrat to come out in opposition to transgender athletes competing on female-designated sports teams.
In an interview with the right-wing news outlet The Dispatch, Gallego echoed President Donald Trump and a host of Republican lawmakers who have been vocal in their opposition to transgender participation in female-designated sports.
"As a parent of a daughter, I think it's legitimate that parents are worried about the safety of their daughters, and I think it's legitimate for us to be worried also about fair competition," he said.
A transgender athlete in California won two golds and a silver medal at the CIF State Track & Field Championships last weekend, but officially "tied" with other athletes due to a specialized scoring system instituted just ahead of the state meet.
AB Hernandez, a transgender girl who is a junior at Jurupa Valley High School in Riverside, California, placed first in the girls' high jump and triple jump competitions, and second in the girls' long jump competition.
Hernandez's participation sparked controversy and staunch opposition from some parents and bystanders, especially after President Donald Trump threatened to permanently withhold federal money from California if transgender athletes -- specifically Hernandez, although he did not refer to her by name -- were allowed to compete in female events.
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a Tennessee law banning doctors from prescribing gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth with gender dysphoria.
A group of families of transgender youth and a doctor who treats them sued to overturn the law, arguing it was unconstitutional, infringed on parental rights, and violated nondiscrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act. Lower courts ultimately dismissed the parental rights and ACA-based claims.
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