• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Boy Scouts insurers seek to delay $2.5 billion abuse deal, bankruptcy exit
  • Lady Gaga Crushing On ‘Joker’ Costar Joaquin Phoenix As They Portray Star-Crossed Lovers On Blockbuster Sequel
  • Daniel Radcliffe Takes Dig At ‘Harry Potter’ Writer J.K. Rowling While Hosting Trans Youth Roundtable

Arcade Fire Responds to Criticism Over Casting Andrew Garfield as Trans Woman in ‘We Exist’ Video

Kyler Geoffroy May 25, 2014

Garfield 1

In case you missed it earlier this month, Arcade Fire released the music video for their single ‘We Exist’ – featuring an impressive performance by Andrew Garfield as a trans woman named Sandy.

Not everyone was happy about Garfield’s role in the video however. Trans lead singer for Against Me! Laura Jane Grace, for example, openly expressed her frustration that Arcade Fire failed to hire “an actual ‘Trans’ actor instead of Spider-Man.”

Garfield2In an interview with The Advocate, front man Win Butler and video director David Wilson addressed the concerns surrounding Garfield's participation.

"There was just so much thought and love that went into the video I don't personally see it as negative," Butler says of the casting, but adding "I can totally see the sensitivity of the issue."

Wilson, the director, says he had considered casting a trans person but was moved by Garfield's passion for the project after their first phone conversation. "Before I got on the call, I thought, Is this the right person — should we be using a transgender person?" he remembers. "But then getting on the phone with Andrew, and Andrew's commitment and passion toward the project was just overwhelming. For an actor of that caliber to be that emotionally invested in a music video is just a very special thing. It just completely made sense."

Check out the full interview here, where Butler also discusses the Jamaican undertones on the album and how "We Exist" is a reaction to the country's notoriously anti-gay culture. 

And in case you missed the "We Exist" music video, click here. 

Topics: Actor, Music, News, Trans Rights More Posts About: Andrew Garfield, Andrew Garfield, Arcade Fire, Arcade Fire, News, Transgender

Related Posts
  • After school shooting, some trans Tennesseans face backlash
  • Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say
  • ‘You are welcome here’: Minnesota passes bill to solidify status as a trans refuge state
  • Lady Gaga Crushing On ‘Joker’ Costar Joaquin Phoenix As They Portray Star-Crossed Lovers On Blockbuster Sequel

    Lady Gaga Crushing On ‘Joker’ Costar Joaquin Phoenix As They Portray Star-Crossed Lovers On Blockbuster Sequel

    Published by Radar Online mega Lady Gaga has been swooning over her costar Joaquin Phoenix while portraying DC comic book-inspired characters Harley Quinn and the Joker in the highly anticipated sequel, RadarOnline.com has learned. Insiders claim …Read More »
  • Daniel Radcliffe Takes Dig At ‘Harry Potter’ Writer J.K. Rowling While Hosting Trans Youth Roundtable

    Daniel Radcliffe Takes Dig At ‘Harry Potter’ Writer J.K. Rowling While Hosting Trans Youth Roundtable

    Published by OK Magazine mega Daniel Radcliffe has spoken up for the trans community yet again. On Wednesday, March 29, LGBTQ+ nonprofit the Trevor Project revealed that the Harry Potter star will host a roundtable of …Read More »
  • U.S. judge blocks Obamacare coverage mandate for some cancer screenings, PrEP

    U.S. judge blocks Obamacare coverage mandate for some cancer screenings, PrEP

    Published by Reuters By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – A federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked Obamacare’s mandate that health insurance plans cover preventive care, including screenings for certain cancers and pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP), …Read More »
  • After school shooting, some trans Tennesseans face backlash

    After school shooting, some trans Tennesseans face backlash

    Published by Reuters By Jonathan Allen NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – When Nashville police announced that the shooter who killed three children and three adults at a school this week was transgender, trans Tennesseans braced themselves for …Read More »
Previous Post: « Bad Lip Reading Makes ‘American Idol’ A Million Times Better – VIDEO
Next Post: Check Out Morgan Freeman’s God-like Voice on Helium: VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Wisconsin School Bans Miley Cyrus & Dolly Parton Song ‘Rainbowland’

    Wisconsin School Bans Miley Cyrus & Dolly Parton Song ‘Rainbowland’

  • Heidi Stevens: It’s not tampons. Or drag queens. Or Renaissance art. It’s guns. And they’re laying waste to our children

    Heidi Stevens: It’s not tampons. Or drag queens. Or Renaissance art. It’s guns. And they’re laying waste to our children

  • Suspect charged after Molotov cocktail attack on Ohio church planning drag story hour

    Suspect charged after Molotov cocktail attack on Ohio church planning drag story hour

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Heidi Stevens: It’s not tampons. Or drag queens. Or Renaissance art. It’s guns. And they’re laying waste to our children

    Heidi Stevens: It’s not tampons. Or drag queens. Or Renaissance art. It’s guns. And they’re laying waste to our children

  • Bad Bunny says first onscreen kiss with a man ‘was very cool’

    Bad Bunny says first onscreen kiss with a man ‘was very cool’

  • Lil Nas X doesn’t like dating famous people

    Lil Nas X doesn’t like dating famous people

RSS Partner Links

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Most Recent

  • Boy Scouts insurers seek to delay $2.5 billion abuse deal, bankruptcy exit

    Boy Scouts insurers seek to delay $2.5 billion abuse deal, bankruptcy exit

  • Lady Gaga Crushing On ‘Joker’ Costar Joaquin Phoenix As They Portray Star-Crossed Lovers On Blockbuster Sequel

    Lady Gaga Crushing On ‘Joker’ Costar Joaquin Phoenix As They Portray Star-Crossed Lovers On Blockbuster Sequel

  • Daniel Radcliffe Takes Dig At ‘Harry Potter’ Writer J.K. Rowling While Hosting Trans Youth Roundtable

    Daniel Radcliffe Takes Dig At ‘Harry Potter’ Writer J.K. Rowling While Hosting Trans Youth Roundtable

  • U.S. judge blocks Obamacare coverage mandate for some cancer screenings, PrEP

    U.S. judge blocks Obamacare coverage mandate for some cancer screenings, PrEP

  • After school shooting, some trans Tennesseans face backlash

    After school shooting, some trans Tennesseans face backlash

  • ‘Gay Key West Uncovered’ Dives Into the Island’s Natural Wonders Aboard the Clothing-Optional BluQ, at Mallory Square Sunset and More: LISTEN

    ‘Gay Key West Uncovered’ Dives Into the Island’s Natural Wonders Aboard the Clothing-Optional BluQ, at Mallory Square Sunset and More: LISTEN

  • Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy

    Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy

  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×