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The Daily Wire Allegedly Didn't Tell LGBTQ Actors They Were Signing Onto an Anti-Trans Film
The Daily Wire Allegedly Didn't Tell LGBTQ Actors They Were Signing Onto an Anti-Trans Film
The Nashville production is now set to face protests by student activist groups.
LGBTQ+ actors who signed onto a Nashville film production have planned protests after learning of the film's anti-trans content.
The movie, Coach Miracle, was pitched to prospective extras as a generic sports comedy. The casting call failed to mention, however, that the film is a Daily Wire production, and that it features men pretending to be trans women in order to win an Olympic basketball game.
This revelation has sparked student protests at at least one filming location in downtown Nashville. Organizers from Middle Tennessee State University have planned demonstrations outside the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on the mornings of June 28, 29, and 30.
"Help us halt the Daily Wire's filming of anti trans propaganda," the protest flyer reads. "You may have received an email about a casting call for extras to star in a "Sports Comedy" in Nashville," it continues. "Innocent as this may seem this film is actually a transphobic film being produced by the Daily Wire to attack trans athletes."
WPLNreports that because Coach Miracle is a non-union production, it offers fewer protections for its actors. Talent agent Karyn Hough told the station she believes a film with such a clear political message should have been open about its intentions.
“With Tennessee being so laid back, the things that they can get away with is incredible,” Hough told WPLN.
One nonbinary actor who left the set early shared that they were offered an unusually high daily rate of $200 in cash for their work as an extra.
"“That’s high. That’s really high,” Hough noted. “An extra is (usually) getting $80 to, at best, $100, and you’re usually on set for 10 hours.”
Chris Sanders from the Tennessee Equality Project also voiced concern about the impact this situation has on the trans and non-binary actors who responded to the casting call.
“It’s an extremely painful experience for them. You know, part of it was they needed the money, but they weren’t willing to compromise,” Sanders told WPLN. “It creates a situation in which there is no place to take a break from transphobia.”
