Entertainment
Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney calls out Boris Johnson in powerful speech to crowd of thousands at London Trans+ Pride: ‘I know you know we exist’-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
‘We’re not going anywhere!’
Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney delivered a powerful speech at London Trans+ Pride this weekend – and she made a point of calling out the Conservative government.
The 18-year-old actress rocketed to fame following her appearance in the coming-of-age Netflix series, in which she plays Elle Argent, a trans girl who has moved from an all boyall-boyss grammar school to Higgs school for girls.
Heartstopper has garnered a legion of fans all over the world following its release, with viewers overjoyed that it’s been renewed for not one, but two more seasons.
Yasmin has long been vocal about the challenges the trans community face and the importance of representation in the media, and on Saturday she attended her first Trans+ Pride along with thousands of other LGBTQ+ people and allies.
The Trans+ Pride march is held every year and aims to ‘celebrate the memory of trans lives taken and uphold the next generation of trans revolutionaries’, with thousands lining the streets annually in protest.
Taking centre stage on Saturday, Yaz gave a speech in which she said she feels ‘connected to my community more than ever’.
The actress made a point of calling out Boris Johnson in her empowering speech (Picture: HNP Newsdesk/Hyde News & Pictures Ltd)‘If the government is trying to eradicate us, we’re all here, and we’re just duplicating, look at how many of us there are,’ she declared, earning major cheers from the crowd.
Proceeding to take aim at Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who resigned from office earlier this week – she added: ‘Boris, bye! Bye!’
Yasmin continued to talk about the importance of seeing people she can relate to in TV and film: ‘Having this representation on screen has made me realise how impactful it is. I want to thank you all so much for being here and I hope that, well, of course the industry’s changing, because I’m here!’
Yaz wants everyone to know that trans people exist and always will do (Picture: HNP Newsdesk/Hyde News & Pictures Ltd)She then asked the crowd: ‘How many of you have seen Doctor Who?’, after being cast in the 60th anniversary special as Rose.
‘Yes, because that is also a moment and that is also a show where my character is trans so, Boris, I hope you see Heartstopper, I hope you see Doctor Who, because I exist, and I know you know I exist. We all exist, and we’re not going anywhere! Period’, she said proudly.
Yasmin will return to Heartstopper as Elle Argent in season 2 and 3 (Picture: Netflix)The crowd clapped for Yaz following her speech before continuing to march the streets with empowering signs, with statements such as, ‘Trans rights are human rights’ and, ‘Trans is beautiful’, written on them.
Despite still being a teen, Yaz has taken the world by storm following her acting debut in Heartstopper, even receiving a mention from Labour MP Luke Pollard in the House of Commons.
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The politician praised the series for its ‘life-saving’ representation before urging the government to include trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people in the conversion therapy ban.
Yasmin will be back on our screens in Heartstopper S2 – with filming expected to start this autumn – although something tells her we’ll be seeing much more of her well before then.
Heartstopper is streaming now on Netflix.
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