Emma Corrin was shocked at how much 'hate' they got for coming out as nonbinary, but said it helps others 'to see someone living as a nonbinary person in the world'

• Emma Corrin was shocked at the amount of "hate" they got after coming out as nonbinary.
• But the announcement did help a lot of people, Corrin told Vanity Fair.

When Emma Corrin announced on Instagram they are nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, they said they were shocked at how much backlash they got.

"It took me aback how much hate I got for that," Corrin told Vanity Fair in a cover story published Wednesday. "It was quite a reality check."

The British actor, who is best known for portraying Princess Diana in the fourth season of "The Crown," said that although their announcement was received negatively by some fans, for others it was a different story altogether.

"For a lot of people, it did help. Especially around conversation of gender and stuff," Corrin told TV correspondent Joy Press.

They continued: "It does help a lot of people to see someone living as a nonbinary person in the world."

Corrin said that others' accounts of their lives and genders helped their journey, too, which was a driving force behind the decision to come out publicly.

"I know how much other people's accounts helped me, that's my motivation for keeping my social media at the moment," Corrin said.

In addition to starring as Diana in Netflix's royal drama, Corrin has played other feminine roles, such as the titular Lady Chatterley in Netflix's adaptation of D.H. Lawrence novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover," and the wife of Harry Styles' queer character in "My Policeman," but said they are not opposed to male roles.

They added that they hope to land some nonbinary roles, but that there "aren't a lot of nonbinary parts out there."

"We need to be supporting queer writers and developing projects and welcoming these narratives into the creative space," the actor said.

For Corrin, it's not about male versus female.

"Being nonbinary for me is a very fluid space where it's not a rejection of femininity or masculinity, it's sort of an embrace of both," they said. "My experience on this earth has been a female one, up until recently, and I still love all those parts of me."

Corrin said they hope the industry is shifting to accept more nonbinary actors and roles.

"The beauty of acting is taking on a character that doesn't necessarily have to be completely in tune with your own experience. It's sort of a way to explore," Corrin told Vanity Fair.

"But I would love to play nonbinary, new parts, male parts. Anything, as long as it's right."

In July 2021, Corrin updated their pronouns on Instagram to "they/them" and shared a post opening up about their experience using chest binders, accompanied by a black and white photo of the actor using boxing wrap as a makeshift binder.

In the caption of the post, Corrin encouraged other nonbinary individuals who want to reduce the appearance of their chest size for gender-affirming reasons to "bind safely."

"Some time before I bought my first binder, messing around with @sirdavidsimon, we used boxing wrap, thanks for capturing this with me, very intimate, very new, very cool," they wrote. "It's all a journey right. Lots of twists and turns and change and that's ok! Embrace it."

They added: "Bind safely, find what works for you — I use binders from @gc2b and @spectrumoutfitters is great too."