Golda Rosheuvel gets honored with Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign. Image Source: THR
Golda Rosheuvel gets honored.
Golda Rosheuvel, who was recently seen as Queen Charlotte on Netflix’s successful show "Bridgerton," is an openly gay actress and was honored with an Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign gala held in New York.
Golda shared with Variety that being authentic to who she is means a lot to her because it has been something that she has championed in her life, so for her to be honored with an Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign gala and have a platform to speak about her journey means a lot to her. She added that there might be one person who is struggling right now, and with her story, they can have some confidence to step up in their life.
While accepting her award, Golda Rosheuvel said to the crowd that nobody should have to choose between being publicly out and being a successful actor. She thanked everyone for the love and support before she added that there is a lack of openness in the industry to being out and went on to explain that one coming out is when you come out to your family and then there is this weird coming out to the industry, publicly.
Golda added that after publicly coming out, there is always a question that bothers the queer actors; whether the casting directors would cast them for a role after knowing that they are queer or whether they would only be cast for queer roles that are still not in full-fledged form, which leads to another doubt; is coming out the right decision? Golda shared that in her early 30s and late 20s, she was having a conversation with a female director of hers who was out and advised her not to come out to the public with her identity.
The actress said that it was a definitive no, as she explained that her friend told her that coming out could harm her career as an actress, but Golda explained that, personally, for her, she thought "fuck that", and added that for her, it’s important to be more authentic than being in an industry that does not accept her. The actress said that she was disappointed with her friend because she admired her and, with her statement, Golda felt confused and angry because she was out as a director but advised her not to come out because she is an actor.
Golda Rosheuvel said it should not be a news for people that representation of every community matters, queer lives exist, and stories of queer community needs to be told so that they can be included in the landscape of storytelling imagination. She added that people are empowered when they see themselves being represented on the big screen and there is no feeling of being the other. The actress shared with the audience that while she was growing up, she did not have role models or women who were open with their sexuality on the big screen or stage. All of it was in the dark and one had to figure things out.
When Golda says she hasn't seen any queer stories on television, she doesn't mean stories about the difficulties of coming out or the prejudices that queer people face in their daily lives (though she acknowledges that these are important as well), but rather stories about normal queer lives. The actress also mentioned that she was offered to play the characters, Othello, and Mercutio from Shakespear’s plays, and she insisted on playing them as women because she thought it would be exciting to present two essential characters from William Shakespeare's book to a modern audience with her own twist and she did it to make the lives of queer people visible and leave a question on people's mind, what if?
The actress talking about her portrayal as Queen Charlotte on Bridergton says that it has brought her, a queer woman of color, into the living rooms of 83 million viewers and counting. She said that the casting choices of the creative team to cast Jonathan Bailey, an openly gay man, as the lead character for the second season was groundbreaking. She added that the choice to cast people of color in leading roles such as Queen, Ladies, Dukes, etc., shows that it’s time for a change in the industry. Golda concluded that the appreciation and the acceptance of the show simply say that there is a global desire for better diversity and representation on-screen and within the narratives.
Golda went ahead to thank showrunner Chris Van Dusen and producer Shonda Rhimes for their belief in the question, "What If?" She said that because of the show, she could stand on stage very proudly and share her story with the world. She complimented Chris Van Dusen and the people at Shondaland, who went ahead and cast her as Queen Charlotte, who was originally not in the books written by Julia Quinn, and gave Golda a chance to showcase to the world what wonders could be done if one could change their perspective and ask the questions What if? She said that she is very thankful and proud of the show because it allowed a biracial, cisgender lesbian to play the first black queen of England. She went on to thank Human Rights Campaign for celebrating everyone from the LGBTQ community, as their work helps them to be embraced in society.
Congratulations Queen!
