Angelica Ross says that Emma Roberts was transphobic and misgendered her on the set of American Horror Story.
In an Instagram live stream on Tuesday, Ross, a transgender actor best known for her roles in Pose, talked about the atmosphere on the set of AHS‘s “1984” season, which was released in 2019.
She says that Roberts, who also acted in the season, misgendered her on set. A screen recording of Ross’s live stream went viral on X on Wednesday.
In the live stream, Ross says when she and Roberts were referred to as “ladies” on set, Roberts responded by saying, “Don’t you mean lady?” while looking at Ross—implying that Ross isn’t a lady.
“What the fuck did you just say?” Ross says she remembers thinking. “I’m like trying to process… My blood is boiling.”
Ross goes on to say that she felt if she said something in response, she would be seen as causing problems. She said someone else on set spoke up about Roberts’ behavior, “and they got repercussions for it.”
“I didn’t speak to that bitch the entire time after that,” Ross says of Roberts. “Bitch don’t play me.”
Ross also posted on X on Wednesday afternoon saying that Roberts had mocked her voice on set.
“Emma then copies my voice & laugh and drops it several octaves. I was SHOOK,” Ross tweeted. “Of course I was self conscious about my voice on set after that.”
Ross also tweeted to thank Roberts, whom she said called and apologized for her behavior.
“I will leave the line open to follow up on your desire to do better and support social justice causes with your platform,” Ross tweeted, tagging Roberts.
On Monday, Ross shared a screenshot on X of emails sent in 2020 between her and Ryan Murphy, the creator of AHS.
In it, Murphy tells Ross he’s creating “a HORROR season starring Black woman,” which he references as being her idea. He asks her which Black female actors—besides herself, Keke Palmer, and “Gabby”—he should consider casting.
Murphy allegedly never responded to her email, and she hasn’t heard back from him since. She says she was being contacted by Marvel for a role and wasn’t able to get clarity from Murphy on whether or not she could move forward with other projects.
“I called business affairs for MONTHS trying to get clarity if they were picking up my contract option,” Ross tweeted. “Or if I was ok to tell Marvel that I was available for whatever they were calling me for.”
Ross also shared on X that she complained about a crew member wearing a racist T-shirt on the AHS set but was told it was “free speech.” Yahoo! reports that Ross said the crewmember wore shirts that stated “Build That Wall” and “I Don’t Kneel.”
Ross, Roberts, and Murphy did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
