Out actress Briana Venskus discussed being told that she doesn’t look “authentically LGBTQ” enough for a role.
The bisexual television actress has had a number of supporting roles in popular shows like Grace and Frankie, House, and Supergirl. She is perhaps best known for the role of Beatrice on The Walking Dead.
She wrote on Instagram, “So…I was just informed that I was not cast in a role on a show because I wasn’t seen as ‘Authentically LGBTQ’ enough.”
Venskus didn’t say what the role was, perhaps because naming names could harm her career.
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Instead, she asked what it means when Hollywood doesn’t think that an actual LGBTQ person doesn’t look LGBTQ enough for TV.
“I’m so tired and frustrated with this Hollywood stereotype of LGBTQ,” she wrote. ”
“What does that even mean to be ‘Authentic LGBTQ’? Do I not look the part to you? What does the ‘part’ of LGBTQ look like to you Hollywood if actual LGTBQ people can’t even be seen as ‘Authentic.’”
She closed: “I am a bisexual woman, I am in the LGBTQ community, and I live AUTHENTICALLY every damn day.”
