By Paige Gawley 11:46 AM PDT, June 22, 2021
The Emmy Awards are making some changes ahead of the 2021 ceremony. On Monday, The Television Academy’s Board of Governors announced the option for a gender neutral classification on nomination certificates and Emmy statuettes.
“Now, nominees and (or) winners in any performer category titled ‘Actor’ or ‘Actress’ may request that their nomination certificate and Emmy statuette carry the term ‘Performer’ in place of Actor or Actress,” the Academy said, adding that such categories have never had “a gender requirement for submissions.”
Billions star Asia Kate Dillon, who identifies as nonbinary, has previously spoken out about gender rules at award shows.
The TCA Awards already have gender neutral categories, while the MTV Movie & TV Awards opted to nix “Actor” and “Actress” categories in favor of gender neutral ones in 2017. The Berlin Film Festival made the same decision last year, while GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics recently did so as well, according to Deadline.
Additionally, the Academy announced that, beginning in the 2022 season, documentaries that are eligible for Oscar contention “will be deemed a theatrical motion picture and thus ineligible for the Emmy competition.”
The 2021 Emmy Awards will take place Sunday, Sept. 17. Nominations will be announced July 13. Watch the video below for a look back at the 2020 ceremony.
