The actress-activist faced rebuttals after being the MC of voguing competition series Legendary. Twitterati called her out for having no connection to the ballroom scene. It used to be a safe space for black and Latino members of the LGBTQ community particularly in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and violence against trans women of color. Jameela debunked these statements and blamed @deadline for spreading misinformation. She clarified her role as a judge alone and said she is not an MC.
At a party for New York Fashion Week last night, the Cut interviewed Indya Moore. Moore is a model and star of the television series Pose, which is about the ballroom scene. “I think that there are multiple truths around this discussion and situation,” Moore said. “This is a community which I belong to, which is very important to me, which is the only reason why I’m speaking on it. Jameela Jamil, you know, is doing her job; however, I feel like, for every cis person on that TV show on the judge’s panel, there’s another trans woman and person from the [ballroom] scene who isn’t.”
Moore then pointed to the success of Pose, a show with trans and gender-nonconforming cast members. “Pose is really successful not because of anyone else but the trans people who are on that show. And I think Legendary could follow the same model. I don’t think we need anyone to popularize our culture … And I’m really relieved to hear that Jameela Jamil isn’t MC-ing the show.”
But, Moore also added. “The stars of the show Legendary are my friends, people that I know, people that I’ve grown up looking up to in the ballroom scene, and I’m really, really excited for the world to see the show. I’m really excited to see how we’re evolving as a human race and how fashion is evolving with us. And I’m really looking forward to seeing what Fashion Week this year is going to bring.”
