Annette Bening Calls Transphobia 'Shameful' and 'Hurtful'

Actress Annette Bening, the mother of a transgender son, issued a warning to transphobes during GLSEN’s Rise Up LA benefit Saturday.

“You do not want to make this mama mad,” Bening said as she accepted GLSEN’s Advocate Award, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Most of my career, I’ve been a pretty private person … but over the last several years, I’ve changed my mind,” she said, adding, “I have felt the responsibility to speak out and to speak up as transphobia has invaded our government at the local, state, and federal levels. It is hurtful. It is shameful. And it is being used as a tool by the far right to rally their base and turn out the vote.”

She spoke of a friend who also has a trans child and recently moved from Texas to California. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, going off a legal opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, ordered last year that families who let their children undergo gender-affirming care be investigated for child abuse. Those investigations are largely on hold while a court case against the policy is heard, but supportive parents continue to feel threatened.

Related: Annette Bening: 'I’ve Learned a Lot' From 'Brilliant' Trans Son Stephen

“Imagine being brought up on criminal charges or reported to child protective services because you are just trying to do what is best for your child,” Bening said. She explained, “It got to the point where my friend gave her young trans child a burner phone and an explicit set of instructions to follow in case child protective services came to her school to question her, which they have been allowed to do without the parents present.”

Bening’s friend is now a “political refugee within our own country,” the actress said. “Think about that for a moment. The government should not be getting in between parents and children when it comes to private matters like this.”

Bening did add a positive note. “There is one thing I have always known,” she said. “Love and compassion have to lead the way. Let it lead the way towards radical understanding and acceptance, let it lead the way toward queer joy and celebration, and let it lead us all the way to the ballot box.”

Bening has called her trans son, Stephen Ira, “brilliant” and said she has learned much from him. He is a writer and has had poetry published in outlets including The Paris Review.

The actress is an acclaimed performer with four Oscar nominations. In her latest film, Nyad, she portrays lesbian swimmer Diana Nyad as she makes the 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida at age 64 without a shark cage. The film costars Jodie Foster as Nyad’s friend and coach Bonnie Stoll. It is currently playing in select theaters and will drop on Netflix on Friday.