Who is Angelica Ross, the actress who accused Emma Roberts of transphobia?

Actress and transgender rights activist Angelica Ross took to social media last night to share with fans her experience working with writer, director, and showrunner Ryan Murphy, with whom Ross worked on Pose, as well as the anthology horror series American Horror Story.

Ross called out Murphy for promising a season of AHS centered around Black women, which Ross had been promised a role in. However, the project never surfaced, and Ross alleges that Murphy “left [her follow-up emails] on read,” leading Ross to miss out on a role she was offered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) while she waited to hear back.

However, Ross’ most unpleasant co-worker relationship was with Emma Roberts, whom she starred alongside in the series American Horror Story: 1984. Roberts has starred in multiple AHS seasons, and her apparent behavior was given a pass by Murphy and other producers. On Instagram Live, Ross stated that Roberts “irritated almost every actor” on the set, and that “folks seemed like they wanted to fight her all the time because she was playing psychological games on set.”

Worse still, Ross alleged that Roberts discriminated against her as a trans woman. Recalling a conversation with John J. Gray on set, Gray apparently said, “Okay ladies, that’s enough. Let’s get back to work,” to which Roberts replied, “Don’t you mean lady?”

Ross also alleged that Roberts mocked her voice for having a deeper tone while in a group conversation. While this incident was in public, no further action was taken on set.

“My blood is boiling because I’m like, ‘If I say something, it’s going to be me that’s the problem.’ I know this because there was someone who spoke up about what she was doing and they got repercussions from it.”

Ross’ allegations have seemingly been confirmed in the last few hours, with the actress tweeting that her former co-star called her to apologize.

“Thank you @RobertsEmma for calling and apologizing, recognizing your behavior was not that of an ally,” Ross posted on Twitter. “I will leave the line open to follow up on your desire to do better and support social justice causes with your platform.”

Who is Angelica Ross?

Angelica Ross is an actress, businesswoman, and advocate for transgender rights. Ross’ first major role, a major breakthrough in representation for trans women of color, was on the web series Her Story, before appearing on the multi-Emmy Award-winning show Transparent.

In 2018, Ross was cast in Ryan Murphy’s show Pose, a drama following the underground ballroom culture of the LGBTQ+ community in the New York City of the 1970s and ‘80s. Ross starred as Candy Ferocity, founder of the Hosue of Ferocity, and sometime-antagonist of Pray Tell, played by Billy Porter, whom Ross has affectionately described as “my sister — I’m like Venus Williams, he’s Serena.” Ross collaborated with Ryan Murphy twice more, on the series American Horror Story: 1984 — where she worked alongside Emma Roberts —and American Horror Story: Double Feature.

Ross is also the founder and CEO of TransTech Social Enterprises, an organization that aims to bring inclusivity for the trans community in the field of tech. Prior to making it as an actress, Ross taught herself coding, and worked as a graphic designer and photographer.