Hunter Schafer, the 24-year-old actress famously known for her role in HBO’s Euphoria, recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Taking on the role of Tigris Snow in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to The Hunger Games, the actress came to promote her recently released movie.
However, her appearance on the talk show soon took a notorious turn after she shared a throwback picture of herself in a Capitol-themed Halloween costume, and Jimmy Fallon called her “bud”. Given that Hunter Schafer is a transgender actress, who identifies as female, fans felt outraged with Fallon’s choice of words.
Jimmy Fallon Called Hunter Schafer “Bud” on His Talk Show
Rising to prominence after starring in the HBO high school drama Euphoria, Hunter Schafer recently took on the role of Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Appearing to promote her latest film on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actress admitted to being a huge fan of The Hunger Games.
Obsessed with the original Jennifer Lawrence-led Hunger Games trilogy, Hunter Schafer finally got the opportunity to appear in a prequel to the movie. Thus, appearing on the talk show, the actress disclosed how she used to dress up in a Capitol-themed Halloween costume during her childhood.
“For Halloween, I was obsessed with how the capitol people were in costume and made my own costume.” Schafer shared.
“Oh bud, it’s unbelievable! This is really cool, now you’re in Hunger Games — as a capitol person!” Fallon replied.
“It’s crazy” Schafer admitted.
“Look at you! Congratulations, bud!” Fallon said.
This particular conversation turned into a massive issue, as viewers and netizens started taking offense at Jimmy Fallon‘s choice of words in front of Hunter Schafer. Given that the actress is a transgender, who identifies as a woman, Fallon’s diction was considered offensive. Especially since “bud” is often considered a masculine connotation.
Fans Are Outraged With Jimmy Fallon’s Choice Of Words
Although Hunter Schafer appeared unfazed by it, others thought that it was inappropriate for Jimmy Fallon to use masculine connotations, especially since the actress identifies as a woman. Netizens gathered on social media to criticize Fallon and even went ahead to cancel the host for his innocuous comment.
However, not all were against Jimmy Fallon; a few people even considered it an honest mistake, while others simply felt it was no big deal. But Twitterattis shared their opinions and views on X, with people arguing that Fallon didn’t use the word “bud” as a gender-specific term, for he often uses bud for even cisgender women.
jimmy fallon calling hunter schafer “bud” i am going to [redacted]
— Official Lsies (@lsiesOfficial) November 20, 2023
as if i didn’t have reason enough to hate Fallon, he takes this opportunity to show that he doesn’t see Hunter as the beautiful, immaculate queen sitting before him
to my cis readers, i hope you don’t see this as an overreaction—bud/buddy is unquestionably male-coded https://t.co/gzrf9cIHCk
— TheAverageGirlLovesFall 🍁🏳️⚧️ (@thearae60) November 20, 2023
“bud is gender neutral”
a slight minority of people might say it in a gender neutral way. but you obviously know it’s used exclusively for men most the time.
even if Hunter isn’t bothered, it’s still gross and telling of how Fallon views trans women. https://t.co/qRvY1CpQfu
— dollarhyfttnf (@dollarnuftynuf) November 19, 2023
about the hunter schafer and jimmy fallon case, i'm really aware of cis people who call trans women 'dude, bro, etc' but we have to see how he calls cis women and in jimmy's case he always did the same to every younger woman on his show so yea, let's pay attention to the patterns
— elisa (@pinkhasivna) November 20, 2023
hes literally called taylor swift and ariana grande (two cisgender women) bud before and this is no different??? i would get it if hunter was uncomfortable but she dgaf 😭 https://t.co/XzUjELR8mQ
— j.two (@hasansglasses) November 19, 2023
People criticizing Jimmy Fallon bc he called Hunter Schafer bud are total morons. You can call anyone bud. Doesn't have to be a woman or a man. This is so stupid that anyone would actually care about this with all the shit we have going on in this world this is what's an issue?
— Ryan Anthony (@EUPH0RIC_RUSH) November 23, 2023
The tug of war turned brutal on social media, with a group of people taking offense and willing to cancel Jimmy Fallon, while others stood in favor of the host, especially since Hunter Schafer was totally unbothered. Both celebrities and their representatives refused to comment on the issue.
