ACTRESS’ LGBT FIGHT
SARA RAMIREZ has taken her fight for LGBTQ rights to “Madam Secretary.”
The actress’ character on the CBS political drama will come out as bisexual in Sunday night’s episode about refugees seeking asylum.
In the installment, titled “Refuge,” Kat Sandoval (Ramirez) and Jay Whitman (Sebastian Arcelus) combine forces to help “persecuted LGBTQ citizens escape their country while their American Homeland Security applications are processed,” according to TVLine.
During a conversation about parenting, Jay and Kat, who wears shirts and ties and a halfshaved hairstyle, discuss gender identity and self-expression.
The plan to help the refugees, she says, is personal.
Ramirez, who came out as bisexual in 2016, said her role on the show has generated some negative reactions but her fans have been overwhelmingly positive.
“I’m hearing from folks who are very supportive of what I’m doing. Folks in the LGBTQ community seem excited about this character. I wasn’t sure how Kat identifies and this is the episode that we find out,” the “Grey’s Anatomy” alum told TV Insider.
“People can get angry about just anything, so you can’t make everybody happy with every representation. But I’m proud of the visibility that we’re bringing because it’s rare that we see this kind of character represented in mainstream media.”
To connect fiction to reality, Ramirez took the episode’s plotlines to OutRight Action International, an LGBTQ human-rights watchdog group.
“I was given the show’s blessing to come in and go over some of the plot points,” she told TVLine.
“We wanted to make sure we’re responsible and accurate, and we don’t want to put anyone in danger more so than they already are.” “Madam Secretary” airs Sunday at 10 p.m.