Trans Red, White & Royal Blue star claims she was ‘disrespected and silenced’ on set of sequel
Aneesh Sheth plays secret service agent Amy in Red, White & Royal Blue. (Frazer Harrison/Getty)
Trans actress Aneesh Sheth has spoken out about her experience filming the upcoming sequel to Red, White and Royal Blue, alleging she faced “huge pay disparity”, disrespect and being “invalidated” and “silenced” while working on the set of Red, White & Royal Wedding.
Sheth, 44, is reprising her role as Secret Service agent Amy Gupta in Red, White & Royal Wedding, following her appearance in Red, White & Royal Blue. Sheth made her comments on her experience on Instagram while responding to a video about Elliot Page’s struggles finding work after appearing in Christopher Nolan’s wildly successful film The Odyssey.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how I was treated on my last film,” Sheth wrote. “Huge pay disparity, disrespect, invalidated, silenced… I could go on. In a place I thought would have my back.”
She also revealed that, aside from that production, she hasn’t worked in more than four years. She also said a casting director had explicitly told her that people were not hiring trans actors because producers viewed them as a “liability”.
When someone asked why a trans actor might be considered a liability, Sheth said the explanation she was given was tied to the current political climate.
“With everything going on politically, hiring a trans person for a film/tv show could potentially alienate audiences slash not be lucrative,” she wrote. “It’s ridiculous.”
Sheth, who says she has worked in the entertainment industry for almost 30 years, added: “And now I’m being told I can’t get work simply because of who I am.”
Her comments quickly went viral, prompting an outpouring of support from ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ fans. Some fans also urged others not to direct anger at the film’s cast, noting that Sheth’s comments appear to be aimed at executives and industry decision-makers rather than her fellow actors.
One of Sheth’s co-stars, Ian McIntyre, publicly backed her, telling her she “should be treated so much better” and that she needed to call out what happened.
Sheth later thanked fans for the support, explaining that she had originally commented on the video simply because she wanted to support Page and highlight what she described as the wider lack of opportunity, work and visibility for trans actors.
She said she couldn’t “say anymore right now”, but added that she hopes she will eventually be able to share more about her own experiences.
