Though this year's Emmy Awards had a big handful of LGBTQ+ shows and actors nominated for their achievements during this past year's television season, once again, a bunch of talented folks from one of our favorite queer series were completely left in the dark.
Ryan Murphy's groundbreaking FX drama series Pose has been widely acclaimed by fans and critics alike for its inside look at the lives of Black and Brown queer and trans people in the ballroom scene during the height of the AIDS crisis in the '80s/'90s. The show boasts TV's biggest ever transgender cast, with talented actors like Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Angelica Ross, and Hailie Sahar all having regular main roles. But despite the show's emotional heights, gripping storylines, and the amazing performances the stars have put on throughout the series for past two seasons, it looks most of the Pose folks were, once again, majorly snubbed by the Television Academy.
"Something about trans people not being honored on a show about trans people who created a culture to honor ourselves because the world doesn’t," Indya Moore, who plays trans fashion model Angel on Pose tweeted in response to the Emmy snub.
When a commenter tried to reason that no one on Pose had "broken out" in the way that Emmy-nominated trans actress Laverne Cox did when she starred in Orange Is the New Black, Moore also talked about the lack of promotion of the show.
"Most of us have never been on any talk shows except MJ, here and there. And they still ignored her work." Moore said. "'They' don't trust us on live TV. Especially me."
According to PinkNews, Moore's co-star Angelica Ross, who plays the role of dancer Candy and who had one of the most memorable and heartbreaking storylines in the entire FX series so far, shared Moore's sentiment, going on Instagram Live to voice her frustrations.
"I need y’all to understand that I’m so tired," she said. "Those of you who know me know I’m not just working on screen or behind the lens, but I’m working around the clock to get our society to value trans lives and Black trans lives and listen. I feel what I feel because I feel there is nothing we can do."
While it's completely heartbreaking and so uncalled for that the trans talent on a show centering trans lives aren't getting recognized at all for their contributions (Billy Porter did get nominated for the role of Pray Tell in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category, the same award he won at last year's Emmy ceremony), many people were quick to defend the Pose cast and call out the snub.
When will Black and Brown trans women get the hard-earned recognition they deserve in the arts?