Leyna Bloom at the 2021 Met Gala. Image Source: Taylor Hill / WireImage
When model and actress Leyna Bloom attended the Met Gala in 2021, she wasn’t the only trans woman of color to shine during fashion’s biggest night — “Pose” stars Janet Mock and Indya Moore celebrated the moment alongside her. It was a big year in terms of trans representation; Elliot Page also walked his first carpet since coming out as trans.
But when Bloom tuned in to the Met Gala this year on May 1, she was shocked she didn’t see any coverage of trans people of color attending the event. She even took to Instagram to point that out.
“These are spaces that hold so much power in terms of representation,” Bloom tells POPSUGAR. “We have been here and we deserve to be seen in these spaces, to showcase our self-expression, our imagination, and our freedom.”
While there were folks of color who identify as queer walking the carpet on Monday — Lil Nas X, Doja Cat, Janelle Monáe — Bloom saw the omission of trans women of color as particularly glaring in a year that has seen unprecedented anti-trans legislation and violence. Trans women of color face some of the highest rates of violence within the queer community, per the Human Rights Campaign.
“We are literally being murdered,” Bloom says. “There are more of us in body bags than there are at the Met Gala, at the Golden Globes, at the Emmys.”
At the event, Dwyane Wade — whose daughter, Zaya Wade, came out as trans in 2020 — brought attention to trans issues as he walked alongside his wife, Gabrielle Union. He spoke about the high rates of suicide in the trans community and the importance of acceptance. “Let’s make sure our kids have an opportunity to live this life that we all get to live,” he told a Variety reporter.
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