Patricia Arquette honours trans sister Alexis with Emmys speech

"I'm so sad I lost my sister Alexis and that trans people are still being persecuted."

71st Emmy Awards

Patricia Arquette spoke about trans rights while accepting the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie award. Source: Getty Images North America

Actress Patricia Arquette has used the 71st Emmy Awards to draw attention to the treatment of transgender people in the United States.

On stage to accept the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, Arquette honoured, by highlighting the ongoing persecution of the trans community.

"I'm so sad I lost my sister Alexis and that trans people are still being persecuted..." She said, earning a standing ovation from the cast of FX series Pose and actress Laverne Cox.

"Let's get rid of this bias that we have everywhere," she continued.

"They're human beings and let's give them jobs."
Alexis Arquette, a character actress, cabaret performer and trans woman, .

She chronicled her transition and the process of her gender-affirmation surgery in the 2007 documentary Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother.

Laverne Cox also , carrying a clutch which highlighted two upcoming Title VII sexual orientation discrimination cases.

The cases, to be seen by the Supreme Court on October 8, will determine whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, applies to cases based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Published 23 September 2019 11:37am
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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