At the Thursday night New York City premiere for the third and final season of FX’s hit series Pose, executive producer and director Janet Mock shook the crowd with an emotional and fiery speech taking Hollywood to task for its mistreatment of the trans community.
“Fuck Hollywood,” Mock said, reportedly leaving audience members speechless. “This makes you uncomfortable? It should. It should make you fucking shake in your motherfucking boots. This is speaking the truth. This is what Pose is.” She delivered her 15-minute screed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, highlighting the inequitable pay for Black trans women working in the industry. “Why am I making $40,000 a motherfucking episode, huh?” Mock asked the crowd. “I am angry!”
Per the Daily Beast, Pose cocreators Ryan Murphy and Steven Canals were in the audience and responded to Mock at various points throughout her speech. In one exchange, Mock said that Murphy brought in trans talent to buoy the writers room, at one point telling the super-producer, “You brought…girls in to help you.” “Who brought the girls in?” Mock asked him. “I did,” Murphy replied. “I wanted the girls to be there.” At another point during the emotional speech, Mock directly addressed her partner, Angel Bismark Curiel, who plays Lil Papi on the show, admitting that she was unfaithful with a member of the Pose crew and seemingly asking for his forgiveness.
Throughout the shocking and intense speech, Mock’s love and admiration for Pose remained clear. “I stand up taller in the world because of this show,” she said. “I know that I matter because of this show. I have a voice because of this show.”
In his speech at the event, Murphy stated his enduring love for the program and the impact it’s had on his career. “In my career that has now lasted for 25 years, it is the most important thing that I’ve been a part of,” he said. “And it is the thing I think that I’m the most proud to consider myself a part of.”
Representatives for Mock and FX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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