‘American Horror Story’s Angelica Ross Says Emma Roberts Apologized for Alleged Transphobic Comments

Angelica Ross thanked Emma Roberts on social media for calling her and apologizing after she shared several stories on social media that alleged Roberts had once made transphobic comments towards her while working on American Horror Story: 1984. “Thank you @RobertsEmma for calling and apologizing, recognizing your behavior was not that of an ally,” Ross tweeted. “I will leave the line open to follow up on your desire to do better and support social justice causes with your platform.” 

In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, Ross attacked the showrunner and creator of AHS Ryan Murphy, claiming that he “left [her] on read” regarding a possible season of the show with four Black actresses, including Ross. Ross hinted at the end of her Twitter/X rant that she would also discuss “the transphobic remarks my co-star said to my face, and the racism I complained about on set that they said was ‘free speech.’” 

Ultimately, Ross appeared live on Instagram and shared her experience of transphobia that Roberts exposed her to on the set of American Horror Story: 1984. According to Ross’s account, Roberts made a transphobic remark directed at her while filming a scene together. Roberts allegedly suggested that she was the only woman on set at that time.

“My blood is boiling. Boiling,” said Ross. “I’m like, ‘If I say something, it’s going to be me that’s the problem. And I know this because there was someone who spoke up about what she was doing, and they got repercussions from it. Not her. They did.” The tweets continued to reveal that it took Ross “about a year and some months to process all of this so that I could speak without crying or getting too angry. Because we know how y’all respond to the ‘angry Black woman.’” 

Ross tweeted about another incident on Wednesday that accused the Scream Queens actress of being transphobic on the set of AHS: 1984. “We’re all sitting around & I’m copying Cody’s accent…. Emma then copies my voice & laugh and drops it several octaves. I was SHOOK,” tweeted Ross. “She read me for blood with my own words. Of course I was self-conscious about my voice on set after that.” 

Within a few hours, Ross tweeted that Roberts had apologized for her behavior over the phone. Roberts has not publicly addressed the allegations. In 2019, Ross and Roberts starred together in American Horror Story: 1984. Roberts will soon be seen starring opposite Kim Kardashian in another season of the anthology with American Horror Story: Delicate.