Talk to Me 's trans star Zoe Terakes calls Kuwait's ban of horror film 'dehumanizing'
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Talk to Me star Zoe Terakes is responding to Kuwait banning the horror film, calling the decision "targeted and dehumanizing."
On Friday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Talk to Me had been blocked from release in the country because the film's cast includes Terakes, who identifies as nonbinary and trans masculine. It is seemingly the first time Kuwait has banned a film not because of the film's themes or characters but because of the sexual or gender identity of a cast member.
Jerod Harris/Getty Images Zoe Terakes
"Hello. I've been wondering how to respond to this," Terakes wrote over the weekend in an Instagram post, which contained a screenshot of the Hollywood Reporter headline. "Whether it deserves the dignity of a response. This isn't the first film Kuwait has banned. If there are queer or trans themes or scenes in your film, it's probably not gonna make it to the Gulf. Which is devastating and terrifying in its own right. But our film doesn't have queer themes. Our film doesn't actually ever mention my transness, or my queerness. I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I'm not a theme. I'm a person. Kuwait has banned this film due to my identity alone. Reportedly, this is a first. This is a new precedent. It is targeted and dehumanising and means to harm us."
Everett Collection Zoe Terakes in 'Talk to Me'
"As much as it is very sad to be on the receiving end of this, what is even more heartbreaking is what this precedent means for the queer and trans people of Kuwait," Terakes continued. "Representation is hope. Representation is a light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to keep going, something to hold onto in the dark, a voice that whispers things can be better than they are. Eliminating trans actors on screens will not eliminate trans people (as much as the government of Kuwait wishes it would) but it will eliminate a lot of hope. And hope is such a large part of how we live as marginalised people."
At the end of the message, the actor suggested that readers who felt "angry, sad or confused by this" donate to the Rainbow Coalition, "an organisation that helps queer and trans people access safety and lives free from persecution worldwide."
Talk to Me stars Sophie Wilde as a grieving high school student who discovers she can contact the dead by holding a severed hand owned by Terakes' character Hayley. Directed by Michael and Danny Philippou, and distributed by A24, the low budget horror movie has proven a hit at the US box office, earning $22 million since the movie debuted in cinemas July 28.
Terakes will next appear on the Marvel TV show Ironheart.
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