Pedro Pascal is standing by his trans sister, Lux Pascal, and the LGBTQ+ community at large.
According to People, while attending the U.K. premiere of Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*, the actor wore a white T-shirt with “Protect the Dolls” emblazoned on it.
Connor Ives designed the shirt to honor trans women
The “Protect the Dolls” shirt, which Pascal wore earlier this month during his 50th birthday celebration on April 6, per Deadline, was designed by Conner Ives. The outlet reported that the tee was shown at Ives’ runway show during London Fashion Week in February and is part of a larger effort by Ives to highlight the atrocities trans women around the world face, with “dolls” being a term of endearment the LGBTQ+ community uses to refer to transgender women.
Ives told The New York Times he was inspired to use fashion as a means to advocate for trans people politically and socially.
He said, “In the modern day, what is more ubiquitous than the graphic T-shirt?”
Ives added, “It was very reactive. I knew I wanted to say something, given what we’ve observed in the last few months with the U.S. government and the current political regime.”
Other celebrities have been spotted wearing the tee, including Troye Sivan, who wore it while performing with Charli XCX during her Coachella set.
Pascal’s choice of wearing the shirt was especially timely as the U.K. Supreme Court ruled on April 16 that the legal definition of a woman is rooted solely in biological sex. The decision, which the U.K. government said will offer “clarity and confidence” for women and service providers, according to The Athletic, actively pushes trans women out of equality law.
Proceeds from the “Protect the Dolls” tee are being donated to Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline that provides peer support for transgender people, The New York Times reported.
Pascal’s advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community
Pascal is an avid supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and has been particularly vocal about trans womens’ rights since Lux came out in February 2021, People reported. He’s publicly stood by his sister amid her transition. According to LGBTQ+ outlet Them, Pascal has described Lux as “one of the most powerful people and personalities I’ve ever known.”
Lux, an actor and activist, graduated from The Juilliard School in New York City in 2023.
In February, Pascal took to Instagram to share his support of trans people with a photo of a poster that reads, “A world without trans people has never existed and never will.”
“I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorizing the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist,” Pascal wrote in a comment on the post.
Pascal also shared a video on his Instagram Stories at the time of Carla Antonelli, Spain’s first trans senator, who called out her colleagues for being anti-trans and “making our lives absolutely unbearable” while addressing Parliament, Ireland’s LGBTQ+ media outlet GCN reported. In addition to that clip, he shared a video of late trans activist Cecilia Gentili, including part of her speech at the New York University Lavender Graduation ceremony in 2023.
“Know who you are. Progress is inevitable,” Pascal wrote along with the video, referencing comments Gentili made.
