Angelica Ross Slams Emma Roberts' 'Bumpy' Apology For Transphobic Comments
By Afouda Bamidele on September 23, 2023 at 11:00 PM EDT
Angelica Ross continues to shed light on the mistreatment she endured on the set of "American Horror Story: 1984."
After boldly speaking up about being subjected to transphobic comments from her castmate Emma Roberts and then getting an apology, the trans-Hollywood star is opening up about the awkward conversation.
Angelica Ross Describes 'Bumpy' Conversation With Emma Roberts
The "Pose" actress during an interview, explained that shortly after calling Ross out for misgendering her in front of co-star John Carroll Lynch, she reached out with an apology but it wasn't a completely wholesome experience.
"She apologized and she said, 'I hate that you walked away from our experience together feeling like that. I see in hindsight what I did and how stupid that was. I’m an ally,'" Ross told The Hollywood Reporter.
The transgender rights advocate then replied, "I was like, 'No, you’re not. You can’t call yourself an ally. [Allyship] is an action. You need to be real with me in this conversation. I’m being real with you. You were being messy.'"
Ross claimed the "Scream Queens" star tried to reach a resolution, saying, “I hope that we can go move forward and fix this. I see you out there doing such great work out there," but the 42-year-old wasn't buying it as she retaliated.
In her words, "I said, 'Oh, so you see me? Do you see me talking about the anti-Blackness? Are you using your platform to amplify the work that I’m doing? No, you haven’t. So what kind of ally are you?' She [Roberts] was like, 'Well, OK. There’s more to be said there. I would love to support causes that you support.'"
Ross, who spoke about Roberts being the "boss" on the set of "AHS:1984" concluded, "The truth of the matter is, I know Emma’s got big balls. I’ve seen them on the set, so I’m not surprised that she called me. This girl is no damsel in distress, ever."
As for if Ross ever got an explanation from the 32-year-old about why she misgendered her, the "Her Story" actress answered, "She goes, 'I was really just referring to myself.' I said, 'Don’t. Don’t do it.'"
Recalling what truly went down that day, the CEO of TransTech Social Enterprises recalled, "She had not allowed the makeup team to age her that much. We were supposed to be aged several years. So I knew from the makeup department about what was going on. So she comes to set and I’m like, 'Oh, you look rested.' And she goes, 'John [the director], Angelica’s being mean!' And he goes, 'OK, ladies …' And she goes, 'Don’t you mean … lady?'"
Ross On Roberts Controlling The Set & Racist T-shirt
During the conversation, Ross also addressed an imbalance of power between African-American cast members and their White counterparts.
"I just wasn’t sure what I was witnessing. I definitely was witnessing a lot of white men on set in kind of a white-male-dominated space," she explained. "But somehow folks like Emma Roberts and others — I mean even Billie Lourd, but Billie Lourd I’m cool with — those girls were able to make moves on the set."
The Wisconsin native revealed that Roberts and Lourd were able to make things happen with just their words and she "didn’t know if I was watching a mean girl or if I was just watching a woman standing up for herself."
Recalling an incident, she said, "At one point, I see Emma talking to the director, John, about something that he wants to do. He's trying to get Emma to do something, and she's not complying. And she says to him, 'What are you going to do about it, John? You’re going to cry about it? Waaah. John’s not getting his way.' I was like, 'Well, damn, she’s been in the business for so long, she probably knows what she’s talking about.'"
It turns out Ross concluded Roberts was being a "mean girl," not only because of the transphobic remarks but because of her silence about the racist shirts a crew member wore.
According to the "Framing Agnes" star, the crew member who was responsible for operating the vehicle she drove on camera always wore racist shirts to work.
"One day it was, 'BUILD THAT WALL.' The next day it was white praying hands in front of an American flag, and it said, 'I DON’T KNEEL.' Those are the ones I remember. This guy had a collection," Ross said of her colleague's outfit.