Hunter Schafer, a transgender woman and star of the hit HBO series Euphoria, revealed that her new U.S. passport lists her as male, despite selecting female when completing the application.
In a TikTok video, Schafer expressed her surprise, showing the “M” marker on her passport. Her previous passport had listed her as female.
“I was shocked,” the 26-year-old said, criticizing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s gender policies. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that recognized only two sexes, stating that gender could not be changed. As a result, U.S. passports now only offer male or female designations based on the sex listed at birth.
Previously, Americans had the option to select their gender on passports and even request to be listed as “X,” a designation introduced by the Biden administration in 2022 for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals.
Schafer explained that she applied for a new passport after losing her old one while filming abroad. She filled out the forms identifying as female, but when she received her replacement, it listed her as male, as she shared in her post.
Schafer said she plans to travel overseas next week and expects difficulties at the airport due to the discrepancy on her passport. She believes this situation is “a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under.”
Trump’s executive order states that the male and female sexes “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” It further asserts that “Sex” does not equate to “gender identity.”
The U.S. State Department, responsible for issuing passports, states on its website that it will “only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth.”
Upon hearing about Trump’s executive order, Schafer said her initial reaction was, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Today I saw it,” she shared with her followers.
Schafer emphasized the importance of sharing her experience, saying, “It’s not just talk—this is real, and it’s happening. No one, no matter their circumstances—whether wealthy, white, or pretty—is excluded.”
The Euphoria star revealed she changed her gender markers on her driver’s license and passport as a teenager, but her birth certificate was never amended.
“I’m pretty sure this will mean I’ll have to out myself to border patrol agents, and that’s something I’ll be doing much more often than I would like or is really necessary,” she said.
On Euphoria, now in its third season, Schafer portrays Jules Vaughn, a transgender teenager navigating a complex relationship with the show’s main character, Rue.