Hollywood LGBTQ stars and other elites are reportedly in a state of panic over the incoming second Trump administration, with some having already fled the country or are considering doing so in the near future.
“It’s keeping me up at night [worrying] for myself and the wider community, especially the transgender community,”Kirsten Schaffer, executive director of Women in Film, told TheWrap. “There were more guardrails last time: [Trump] didn’t have the House, Senate and judiciary.”
“I think there will be a much bigger exodus from America this time around,” screenwriter Brent Hartinger, who left the country in 2017 after Trump was elected the first time, told the outlet.
The Wrap’s story comes as President-elect Donald Trump has named openly gay appointees to his coming administration, including Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. He also named Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence, to the role of the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions.
Trump has consistently stated that he doesn’t oppose same-sex marriage and has even hosted gay weddings at Mar-a-Lago.
Several unnamed sources told TheWrap they have at least considered leaving the U.S., but not everyone has the financial wherewithal to pick up and start over in another country.
However, most of the gay men that TheWrap spoke with seemed to be adopting a “wait and see” approach and think the whole thing might be overblown.
“I don’t really think [Trump]’s that homophobic,” said Marc Huestis, founder of the Gay Film Festival and who was a friend of slain gay politician Harvey Milk.
Writer and comedian Bruce Vilanch told the outlet he believes there’s “a certain level of hysteria” in L.A.’s LGBTQ community. “I don’t think it’s as dire as they’re saying it is, but, I understand,” he said.
An unnamed Hollywood publicist reportedly wasn’t sure whether the panic was justified or not. “I genuinely don’t have a sense of how real some of these risks are, and what might be hyperbole,” the person said.
Much of the panic appears to come from transgender people.
Transgender Hollywood star Laverne Cox recently spoke to Variety about the possibility of moving to Europe or the Caribbean following President elect Donald Trump’s victory.
Cox also spoke about hoarding estrogen out of fear that the Trump administration will confiscate it.
Trump has never said his administration will snatch away hormones from transgender adults.
Rather, he has campaigned to prevent dysphoric males from competing in women’s sports and to put an end to irreversible sex-change procedures performed on minors — an extremely controversial left-wing fad that even the New York Times has called into question.
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