Jared Leto Engages With Heckler At Santa Barbara Film Festival While Being Honored For 'Dallas Buyers Club'

Jared Leto had an awkward run in with a heckler on Tuesday at the Santa Barbara Film Festival when a woman declared his performance in Dallas Buyers Club “Trans-misogyny.”

Leto was at the Southern California festival accepting the Virtuosos Award along with Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), Brie Larson (Short Term 12) and June Squibb (Nebraska). The Virtuosos honorees are actors who have given breakout performances in the past year.

When Leto appeared onstage, a woman in the audience began screaming at him: “Trans-misogyny does not deserve an award.”

Leto, who is considered to be the front-runner to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in March for his portrayal of the trans woman, Rayon, in Dallas Buyers Club, engaged the woman and asked her to clarify her statement.

“You don’t deserve an award for portraying a trans-woman, because you’re a man,” the woman said.

Leto, again, responded, “Because I’m a man, I don’t deserve to play that part? So you would hold a role against someone who happened to be gay or lesbian – they can’t play a straight part?”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Leto and the woman exchanged opinions, debating on the lack of opportunities for trans actors in Hollywood and the fact that straight actors will play a gay or trans character and be given awards almost by default.

“Then you’ve made sure people that are gay, people that aren’t straight, people like the Rayons of the world would never have the opportunity to turn the tables and explore parts of that art and play parts that aren’t essential to who they are,” Leto said, earning applause from the audience.

He later invited the woman and her friend to join him backstage after the Q&A portion of the event and the trio reportedly spoke respectfully for 15 minutes.

Leto also took the opportunity to dedicate his Virtuosos award to Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Leto has already won a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award and multiple film festival awards for his work as Rayon, and at the Oscars he will compete with Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The 86th Oscars, hosted for the second time by Ellen DeGeneres, will air Sunday, March 2, 2014 live on ABC at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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