‘American Horror Story’ Actress Angelica Ross Alleges Emma Roberts Was Transphobic to Her

Angelica Ross is opening up about her time on the American Horror Story set. The actress, known for her work in both FX’s Pose and Ryan Murphy’s hit anthological horror series, claimed this week that she faced transphobia while working on AHS‘ ninth season, AHS: 1984, Ross accusing her co-star Emma Roberts of making transphobic comments against her.

Ross, a trans actress, brought forth the allegations after she was inspired to come forward when listening to the audiobook of Zakiya Dalila Harris’ The Other Black Girl, which is about racism in the corporate world. In a tweet Tuesday night, the actress said she would “tell you about the transphobic remarks my co-star said to my face.” Although Ross did not initially identify the co-star in question, both Pop Crave and Pop Tingz reported Wednesday morning that the actress later revealed it was Roberts who was transphobic to her. Ross revealed that when someone on set said, “‘OK ladies, that’s enough. Let’s get back to work,’” Roberts looked at Ross and responded, “‘Don’t you mean lady?’” Ross has not further addressed her interactions with Roberts on the set, and Roberts has not commented on the allegations at this time.

Ross has been an FX staple for years now after she signed a “first position” seven-year contract with FX. In addition to starring in Pose, she has also appeared in two seasons of American Horror Story. In AHS: 1984, she starred as psychiatric researcher Donna Chambers opposite Roberts’ Brooke Thompson. She went on to appear in the show’s 10th season, Double Feature, portraying two different characters. In the first part, Red Tide, she portrayed The Chemist, later taking on Theta in the second part, Death Valley.

Ross has not worked with Murphy since 2021, and earlier this week, she accused the AHS creator of ghosting her after she pitched an all-Black female season of AHS. Quoting a portion of Harris’ book, Ross shared a screenshot of an email she received from Murphy on July 3, 2020, in which Murphy said he was “doing” her idea. Murphy added, “Not sure of the story yet, but we will start a writers room in the fall. Along with you, who are the four women I should get? I think you, Keke Palmer, Gabby… not sure of the fourth?” Ross replied to the email by suggesting various actors that could star in the season.

When Ross did not hear back from Murphy, even after sending flowers, she said she sent one final email in February 2022 in which she said she was “thinking about what season 11’s focus could be and then just thought maybe just ask you that when that formulates if I could be on the producing side as well. I think I could add a lot to the table in the overall storyline if we are still looking to do a Black lead cast. Have a great week!” Ross said she was “left on read” and hasn’t “heard from him since.”