A year of change

Spencer, while DeBose has earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her portrayal of Anita in the remake of West Side Story.Two openly LGBTQ+ actors being nominated in acting categories in the same year has prompted praise and joy from fans.Stewart identifies as openly queer, telling InStyle in 2020: "Living in this world, being a queer person, there are things that hurt constantly."While many fans have pointed out on social media that if DeBose wins in her category, she will be the first queer woman of color to take the prize.The stars join only a handful of other openly LGBTQ+ actors who have received a nomination in an acting category at the Oscars.Ian McKellen, who is gay, was nominated for his role in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 20 years ago.Two queer-identifying actors who have been nominated for Oscars since then are Lady Gaga and Angelina Jolie, who are both bisexual.Jeremy Blacklow, director of entertainment media at GLAAD said many actors are not out when they are nominated because "LGBTQ+ actors have long faced blatant employment discrimination and have felt forced to hide their sexual orientation and/or gender identity if they hoped to work at all."He added to Vanity Fair: "Once they come out, lesbian, gay, and bisexual actors have rarely been considered for straight leading roles and they haven't been cast for leading lesbian, gay, or bisexual roles either."Fans of both stars have been reacting to their nominations today."With Ariana DeBose & Kristen Stewart this year we have two queer icons nominated for acting Academy Awards!" reads one tweet.With Ariana DeBose & Kristen Stewart this year we have two queer icons nominated for acting Academy Awards!