Last week, actress Jameela Jamil found herself in a controversial snafu once again after being named an MC and a judge for the new voguing-competition television series, Legendary. Afterward, she faced much criticism on Twitter for having no connection to the ballroom scene, the history of which is closely tied to queer and trans people of color. As the drama continued to unfold, Jamil came out as queer, and the show stated that it had not intended that she be MC in the first place, further complicating the backlash.
At a party for New York Fashion Week last night, the Cut caught up with Indya Moore, 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,” they 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.”
To further their point, Moore pointed to the success of Pose, a show with many 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, despite all of the drama, Moore said they are excited not only for the show to be released but also for the rest of this year’s fashion festivities. “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,” they said. “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.”