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By Marni Rose McFall
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A recent episode of the television show Landman has sparked a debate online about the correct usage of pronouns.
A clip shows the character Ainsley Norris, played by Michelle Randolph, saying that the usage of a plural pronoun is incorrect, based on “the English language.” Conservative and right-wing accounts on X have extrapolated meaning from the clip and said it “obliterates” the argument over pronouns.
Why It Matters
Pronoun usage is one issue in a broader picture of a fallout over transgender rights, which has evolved into a significant culture war in recent years. Declaring your pronouns publicly, be it on an email signature or on your social media, has been derided by the right as indicative of "woke" ideology. Supporters of sharing pronouns say that it is important for inclusivity for trans or gender non-confirming individuals. The pronoun "they" can be used by non-binary people.
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Upon his return to office, President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders that pertained to transgender rights. One order said that the U.S. government only recognizes two sexes: "male" and "female," while another barred most transgender personnel from the military, and another barred transgender athletes from women’s sports.
What To Know
Landman is a neo-Western drama created by Taylor Sheridan. Randolph, who plays Ainsley, has been one of the show’s breakout stars.
The recent episode features a clash over pronouns, as Ainsley meets her college roommate, called Paigyn, who uses they/them pronouns. In a viral clip, Ainsley speaks to her college counselor about this.
“I don’t care what someone’s pronouns are,” Ainsley says in the clip. “I mean, using a plural pronoun for one person is just kind of incorrect.”
The college counselor presses her, asking, “Says who?” to which she responds, “Well, the English language.”
The college counselor then says that they “are not going to argue the evolving nature of pronoun usage with you.”
One post of that clip, shared by the conservative news account @RedWave_Press, has been viewed 1.8 million times on X. That viral post was captioned “Paramount’s Landman OBLITERATES the pronouns argument.”
While third-person pronouns are central to English grammar, and the pronoun “they” has been used in English for centuries, the clip has been widely praised online by conservatives as an "end" to the pronoun debate and "wokeism."
Newsweek spoke to Dr. Andrea Macrae, an associate professor of Narrative at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, about pronooun usage."English speakers routinely use ‘they’ and ‘them’ to refer to individuals. We've been using singular ‘they’ since the 14th century. It’s so routine that we don’t really notice it. The most common uses of singular ‘they’/’them’ are when the person being referred to is unknown, or when their gender identity is unknown or insignificant," she said.
"The use of singular ‘they’/’them’ is grammatically legitimate and has a long history."
What People Are Saying
Andrea Macrae, an associate professor of narrative at Oxford Brookes University told Newsweek: "Singular ‘they’/’them’ is also increasingly commonly used to refer to a person whose gender identity is non-binary, to avoid making assumptions about a person’s gender identity, and to use gender-neutral language.
"The use of 'they'/'them' to refer to people with non-binary gender identities reflects the fact that, for hundreds of years, what the speaker does or doesn’t know about the gender identity of the person being referred to has been a common factor in the use of singular ‘they’/‘them’. That said, it is also normal for use of language to shift and change over time."
Bo Loudon, a right-wing social media influencer, in a post on X viewed 2.6 million times: “Paramount’s Landman is going viral for having a pretty blonde actress politely school a liberal character on 'they/them' pronouns. Is wokeism beginning to lose control of Hollywood?”
Jack Posobiec, a right-wing political activist, in a post on X viewed over 300,000 times: “Landman will get subversive. So many of you falling for the Yellowstone trap yet again.”
What Happens Next
The season finale of Landman will air on January 18.
Update 1/14/26, 5:06 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Andrea Macrae.
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