Annette Bening Says She Felt ‘Protective’ Over Transgender Son: ‘We Don’t Need People to Stoke Up Fear’

Annette Bening continues to speak out in support of transgender people.

In the episode from Friday Viewthe Nyad Panelist Sara Haines asked the actress about when she decided she “needed to get in the ring” in support of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“At first I felt very protective of his privacy, because he’s the son of these two celebrities,” Bening, 65, said of her son Stephen, 32, who is transgender and the oldest of the actress’ four children they share. with her husband Warren Beatty with whom she has been aware for over 30 years.

“So I felt very protective, and I felt it was his right to say what he wanted to say publicly or not. And now, as time goes on – especially now with what, unfortunately, is happening in the political process, [with how] trans people are used — fear and ignorance are fueled against trans people in the most horrific way. It’s so unfair,” Bening continued.

“And I feel very, very strongly about that,” she added. “I’m a Democrat. We need a strong Republican Party. We need a strong opposition. But we don’t need people who will incite fear.”

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Stars openly talk about their trans experiences, in their own words

The American beauty the actress went on to tell the panelists that she has a friend who moved her “entire family” to Los Angeles from Texas because she was “very worried about what would happen” to her trans daughter if they stayed in Texas.

“As you know, some of the laws in Texas have become very draconian, and they can actually go and intervene in the school without the parent present and talk to the child. So my friend was very scared,” Bening said.

The two-time Golden Globe winner said she “hopes that people find someone in their lives who is trans… who is just like them, [but] they happen to be trans.”

“And if you’re even luckier, you have someone in your family, because then you really understand that we don’t have to judge – we have to love and understand,” Bening said, adding later, “We need Republicans to stand up and say this is wrong. And that this is heartbreaking.”

Annette Bening; son of Stephen Beatty. Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Instagram/Stephen Beatty Warren Beatty calls transgender son Stephen his ‘hero’: ‘He’s a revolutionary’

Bening has spoken in the past about her pride in her son, telling AARP in an interview published in November 2019, “He has succeeded in something that is very challenging with great style and great intelligence.”

“He’s an articulate, thoughtful person and I’m very, very proud of him,” she said.

And Beatty, 86, shares Bening’s opinion of Stephen. He is a revolutionary, a genius and my hero, like all my children. Bonnie and Clyde the actor said vanity fair back in 2016

Bening and Beatty are also parents to son Benjamin, 29, and daughters Isabel, 27, and Ella, 23.

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Source: HIS Education