Amazon's Jack Ryan Uses Transphobic Slur, Accused of Misogyny

Amazon's new show Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, which premiered Friday,is receiving backlash for using a transphobic slur in a joke about trans people.

In the episode, a drone operator is mocked by his partner for getting a black eye. "Did you accidentally pick up another tr*nny on Fremont Street?" the character taunts.

The first to draw attention to the slur was activist Eliel Cruz, who tweeted to the show, noting that trans women Dejanay L. Stanton and Vontashia Bell were murdered that week.

This comes after Amazon came under fire by employees after LGBTQ Pride posters were defaced at its headquarters. An unknown culprit crossed out the "T" in "LGBT," or simply wrote "Why?" over the Pride message.

Others used the moment to also highlight how Jack Ryan reinforces toxic masculinity and has devastatingly poor representation of women. The show does not pass the Bechdel test. There are two female characters: Jack's love interest, Cathy, and his nemesis Suleiman's wife, Hani. The two exist only in relation to men, and even when they have scenes including other women, they talk exclusively about their male partners.

Instead, the thriller centers on Jack Ryan, a white straight man who continuually knows better than all the more qualified people of color around him. It also includes a woman being shot and two attempted rapes, without meaningfully addressing violence against women.

Also, in the CIA, none of Jack's female colleagues wield any power. Instead, he uses one who has a crush on him to break rules, and he gossips about another coworker's crush on a man.

Regarding the accusations of transphobia, viewers are holding John Krasinski personally accountable and are looking for answers.

Krasinski and Amazon have yet to comment on the controversy.