Amy Schneideris using her platform for good.
In honor of Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday, theJeopardy!champion, 42, took a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the White House.
While there, Schneider met with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and spoke out against therecent wave of anti-LGBTQ legislationcurrently under consideration across the U.S.
“They’re really scary,” Schneider said of the proposed lawsduring a brief interview with reporters. “Some of them, in particular, are denying medical services to trans youth. Those are life-saving medical treatments. These bills could cause the deaths of children, and that’s really sad to me, and it’s really frightening.”
Schneider also said she was “really honored to be here and really grateful that this was being celebrated, that the Trans people are being celebrated in a place like this,” and later provided trans youth with a message of encouragement.
“Hang in there,” she said. “I think that this backlash right now is temporary. I think that the country overall is on our side, and getting more so every day, and I think it’s not gonna be too long until these sorts of bills are seen as a thing of the past.”
Amy Schneider at The White House.NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty
Ahead of Schneider’s visit, theJeopardy!champ documented her excitement and her preparation for the big event on social media.
“I know I haven’t been posting a lot on here, but I’ve been traveling all over the country these past few weeks,“she tweeted alongside two selfies. “This morning, for instance, we’re getting ready to visit, well… THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!! It’s hard to believe this is really happening.”
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She also shared the video of herself speaking in front of reporters,which she captioned, “So, um, this happened. They did not tell me I would be asked questions, but put me on a stage and I just can’t help but perform lol.”
Schneider’s meeting at the White House comes a few months after she became the most successful female contenderin the history ofJeopardy!and the first woman to surpass $1 million in earnings. She is also the first transgender contestant to compete onJeopardy!‘sTournament of Champions.
In January, she told PEOPLE that it was “really great"to represent the trans communityon the show.
“I had had feelings, kind of a little bit, of almost guilt at just sort of how easy it’s generally been for me, the path of being a trans woman. It’s easy because of the work and sacrifice that so many people before me made,” she explained. “There was sort of a little bit of a feeling of guilt about just sort of reaping all the benefits of that without feeling like I was giving much back.”
“To be making an impact now and to be giving something back without trying, with just doing something I was planning to do anyway, is really great,” she added.
She also revealed ina recent interview with PEOPLE for the 2022 Women Changing the World issuethat messages from the LGBTQ+ community began pouring in almost immediately after her first episode aired.
“Somebody said their grandfather was using the right pronouns for a trans person for the first time ever,” she recalled. “That made me realize I was making people’s lives better.”
Amy Schneider.Casey Durkin/Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
Schneider’s visit was just one of many ways the White House marked Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday.
PresidentJoe Bidenalsocommemorated the day with a video messageto transgender Americans, saying, “our entire administration sees you for who you are: made in the image of God and deserving of dignity, respect and support.”
“Visibility matters, and so many transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Americans are thriving,“Biden, 79, noted, before addressing the “onslaught of anti-transgender state laws,” which he called “simply wrong.”
Additionally, the White House hosted transgender youth and their parents on Thursday, while Education Secretary Miguel Cardona met with transgender students in Orlando, Florida, according toThe Hill.
source: people.com
