Hunger Games Star Hunter Schafer Speaks Out About Her Passport’s Gender Change To “Male” After Trump’s Executive Order

Hunter Schafer, known for her role in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, recently discussed a personal matter involving her passport change to male, following a directive from President Donald Trump’s “Day 1” executive orders. The prominent trans actor and model first gained widespread attention through her role in HBO’s Euphoria, which has received widespread critical acclaim since its 2019 debut. The show’s success helped catapult Schafer into the spotlight, earning her recognition for her portrayal of Jules Vaughn.

While posting a video on Tiktok (via Variety), Schafer opened up about the impact of a January 2025 executive order, which “declares only two genders recognized by the state, male and female assigned at birth.” The actor initially doubted that the change would go into effect until it recently happened when her passport listed her as “male.” She called out on this action and expressed that she will continue to fight for trans rights despite this setback. Check out her comments below:

“I’m sure most of us remember on I think the first day of Trump’s presidency, he signed an executive order to declare only two genders recognized by the state, male and female, assigned at birth. As a result of this, which I wrote down because I want to get it right, the Bureau of Consular Affairs has frozen passport applications requesting a gender marker change or renewals or new applications with a gender marker deferring from an applicant’s gender assigned at birth.

Our president is a lot of talk… And today, I saw it on my new passport: male.

Now, to specify, my gender markers were first changed in my teens, when I first got my driver’s license and then passports following, all have been female since then. Hasn’t really been a problem. However, last year when I was filming in Barcelona, our car got broken into and my bag got stolen and inside of that was my passport which was supposed to last me up until my 30s. So I got an emergency passport, which was very simple at the time. It’s basically just a copy of my old passport but temporary and only supposed to be used within the year. So as soon as I got back to the States, I had to get this fixed and get it replaced with a real, proper passport, which I went to the Federal Passport Agency today in L.A. and did. I’ve had to do this one time before, no part of the process was different. I filled everything out just like I normally would, I put female, and when it was picked up today and I opened it up, they had changed the marker to male.

The reality of the situation, in that it is actually happening. And I was shocked, because I don’t know, I just didn’t think it was actually going to happen.

I never had my birth certificate changed, so this has led me to believe that I think the agencies who are in charge of passports and this sort of thing are now required to cross reference birth certificates or, I don’t know exactly what changed as far as the processing goes, but this is the first time this has happened to me since I changed my gender marker. We’re coming up on a decade now, or something. And I do believe it is a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under. And I guess I’m just sort of scared of the way this stuff slowly gets implemented.

I also want to say, I don’t give a f–k that they put a M on my passport. It doesn’t change really anything about me or my transness, however it does make life a little harder. Personally, I mean I haven’t tested it out yet, I’ll found out next week when I have to travel abroad with my new passport, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to come along with having to out myself to like border patrol agents and that whole gig much more often than I would like to or is really necessary. And this is just my personal circumstance, and thinking about other trans women who this might also be happening to, or other trans people, the list only gets longer as far as the intricacies that come along with the difficulty that this brings into real life shit.

“Trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing, I am never going to stop being trans, a letter on a passport can’t change that. And f–k this administration. I don’t really have an answer on what to do about this but I feel it was important to share. This is real. So um yeah, f–k.”

What This Means For Hunter Schafer, Transgender Rights, & Government Policies

Hunter Schafer Is Just One Of Many Individuals Affected

Under Trump’s current administration, several policies aimed at limiting protections for transgender individuals were introduced, including restrictions on military service and changes to healthcare guidelines. Schafer’s passport update is a direct result of a 2025 executive order, which requires that government-issued documents reflect an individual’s sex at “conception.” This policy was met with criticism from transgender advocacy groups, who argued it created unnecessary barriers for transgender individuals seeking to amend their identification to reflect their gender identity.

Schafer’s experience emphasizes the complications faced by many trans individuals in navigating bureaucratic systems that may not be accommodating to their identity. In 2021, under the Biden administration, some aspects of these policies were revised, including executive actions aimed at protecting transgender people from discrimination in healthcare, education, and employment. However, the landscape surrounding gender identity and legal recognition remains in flux, with states and federal agencies implementing varying policies.

For Schafer, this change in her passport is personal within the ongoing legal and societal debates about transgender rights. While her story specifically addresses the impact of government policies on transgender individuals, it also ties into the ongoing conversation on the need for supportive systems that allow people to have their identities fully recognized, without unnecessary complications or restrictions.

Schafer’s openness about her passport experience contributes to the ongoing discourse on transgender rights, providing a first-hand perspective on the real-world consequences of government policies. Throughout her career, Schafer has been a trailblazer, from her acclaimed role in Cuckoo to her advocacy for the transgender community. While it’s clear that these regulations can affect individuals differently, Schafer’s ability to share her experience publicly emphasizes the need for continued and productive discussions on how to create a more inclusive society.

Source: Variety