- The cast of
Ryan Murphy 'sLGBTQ drama "Pose " spoke out against J.K. Rowling for her "harmful" views on transgender people. - Speaking to Variety, Angel Evangelista actor Indya Moore said: "I think she's speaking from this place of just sheer stupidity."
- Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista actor MJ Rodriguez said: "It's really important to distance yourself away from anybody like that," while "Pose" co-creator Steven Canals said: "true allyship is knowing when to fall back and to listen to what the community needs from you."
- Elektra Wintour actor Dominique Jackson encouraged people to work harder for trans rights: "We continue to do the work that we do. And we do it even more, even harder than we have done before."
The cast of Ryan Murphy's FX show "Pose" have become the latest celebrities to speak out against J.K. Rowling and condemn her comments about transgender people.
"Pose," which follows the rise of New York City's African-American and Latino LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming ballroom culture scene in the 1980s, boasts the largest cast of trans actors in TV history.
Angel Evangelista actor Indya Moore told Variety on Wednesday that they think Rowling is "speaking from this place of just sheer stupidity."
Moore said: "I mean, it's just so dumb. She's not even understanding how much death and violence are behind all of those opinions that she's sharing on social media right now. Like she's contributing to so much violence through her airing out her thoughts and ideas and opinions. She's contributing to a stigma that is continuing to take our lives today."
Moore said that they were a fan of "
Meanwhile, "Pose" co-creator Steven Canals told Variety: "In this moment, her opinion is really harmful and damaging and just not necessary.
"I think the issue is her lack of an acknowledgement or realization that it's her privilege that allows her to even be able to voice those opinions in the first place. What I would want to say to her, one cis-person to another, is true allyship is knowing when to fall back and to listen to what the community needs from you. It's being an active listener."
Elektra Wintour actress Dominique Jackson also spoke to Variety, and told the publication that while Rowling's words were hurtful, they have encouraged her to fight harder for trans rights and equality.
"We continue to do the work that we do," she said. "And we do it even more, even harder than we have done before."
Jackson also mentioned Iyanna Dior, a black trans woman who was attacked by men and women in Minneapolis last week but managed to survive. Cameras caught the attack, but Jackson said she felt hopeless after learning about Dior.
"I just gave up because all I saw was us not having hope. What are we going to do? We're going to die and people are just going to walk all over us and say, 'Oh, well, they deserve it because of who they are,'" Jackson said.
"But then I realized that our strength is in standing up. Our strength is in me not sitting here and being an agoraphobic and not going outside. My strength is in getting up and going outside, getting onto social media and talking to people."
Lastly, MJ Rodriguez, a transgender actress who plays Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista, encouraged people to stay away from people like Rowling.
"It's really important to distance yourself away from anybody like that," Rodriguez said. "They're clearly stuck in a generational gap of an understanding of something …We're in a different time and era."
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