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New ‘Barbie’ Film Will Feature Transgender Actor

(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for BoF)

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The new Barbie film will feature a transgender actor, according to reports.

Hari Nef, a transgender actor and model, will star in the film based on the the classic Mattel toy, according to a promotional image Nef shared to shocial media. Nef tweeted a poster of the film, which features the actor in costume. “This Barbie is a doctor,” the poster reads.

The role adds onto Nef’s prolific filmography, which includes Amazon’s transgender-focused “Transparent” series and the hit Netflix show “You.” (RELATED: Twitter Suspends Jordan Peterson For ‘Misgendering’ Transgender Actor)

Nef also released a previously written letter to the film’s director Greta Gerwig and lead actor Margot Robbie after it was revealed that the “Transparent” actor would not be able to participate in the movie due to a scheduling conflict. In it, Nef asked Gerwig and Robbie to “fudge” the schedule to allow the actor to participate.

“Identity politics and cinema aren’t my favorite combination, but the name BARBIE looms large over every American woman,” Nef said.

Nef reflected on how Barbie influenced the actor’s social circle. In the letter, Nef claims that the actor has a circle of transgender friends who call themselves “the dolls” in reference to the LGBT ballroom dance scene.

“Maybe it’s a bid to ratify our femininity, to smile and sneer at the standards we’re held to as women,” the actor mused.