Recently released bodycam footage shows Ezra Miller hitting back at a police officer for calling them 'sir' as they were arrested in Hawaii back in March.
The 29-year-old actor identifies as transgender non-binary, and as they were grappled with by police, the footage obtained by TMZ shows them threatening that failure to refer to them by their proper pronouns would be an 'intentional act of bigotry' and a 'hate crime'.
The clip begins with Miller getting buckled into the car by the arresting officer, with the Fantastic Beasts star worrying about getting nerve damage.
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"Please just let me sit with my hands facing out so I don't get nerve damage," they say.
"I'm a musician, so my nerves on my hands are important to me. Please don't hurt them. Please, I beg you," Ezra continued.
"I have nerve damage from police handcuffs from my life in New Jersey. I know you all are not those cops. But please, please do not damage my nerves in my hands again. It would be really, really awful for me," they added.
Ezra then later corrects the officer after being referred to as 'sir'.
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"I'm not a sir," they admonish. "I am transgender non-binary, please do not refer to me as sir."
The officer responds: "Okay, I was just trying to be respectful."
"If you fail to do that again that is an act of intentional bigotry and it is a technical hate crime according to U.S. Federal Law.
"Please call me they/them/theirs, you can use the term mix," they add.
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On arriving to the station, Ezra then makes sure the officer has still got their body camera turned on, asking: "Is your bodycam still on? Will you make sure it's still on?"
The actor is also seen complaining of pain as they're asked to stand against the wall by the officer.
"It's going to hurt my wound, so please don't do that. Ow f**k," they're heard saying, before squealing: "Ow f**k dude! Ow!"
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The reason for the 28 March arrest was due to Miller allegedly spitting in someone's face in a bar during a game of darts in Hilo, Hawaii.
Incredibly enough they were also arrested in Hawaii the following month. On 19 April, officers were called to a property in Pāhoa, on Hawaii’s Big Island after The Flash star had allegedly thrown a chair at a woman, hitting her in the head. They were released pending further investigation.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468. The line is open 8pm–midnight Mondays and Fridays and is run by trans volunteers
Topics: Fantastic Beasts 3, Celebrity, Police
Simon Catling