Janet Mock calls out industry for low pay in ‘Pose’ speech: ‘You stomped on us’
The transgender activist also confessed to cheating on her boyfriend at the premiere party
Janet Mock, a writer, director, and executive producer on the Emmy award-winning FX series Pose, rocked the Season 3 premiere party on Thursday night with an emotional speech about being underpaid, unappreciated, and unfaithful to her boyfriend.
“F— Hollywood,” Mock said at the event, which was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, The Daily Beast reports. “This makes you uncomfortable? It should. It should make you f—ing shake in your motherf—ing boots. This is speaking the truth. This is what Pose is,” she added.
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During her 15-minute fiery rant, Mock, a trans woman and activist, demanded to know why she wasn’t paid more for her work on the drama series and she slammed the quality of the material from the male writers on season 1, Page Six reports. She called on series creator Ryan Murphy to acknowledge that he brought her on as a writer for this very reason.
“I want to get paid more,” she said.”Why am I making $40,000 an episode, huh? Do you know who the f— I am?”
Mock’s co-stars, network bosses and reporters were then left speechless when she demanded that boyfriend Angel Bismark Curiel “stand up” while she confessed to cheating on him with a Pose crew member.
“Let me tell you something about love,” Mock said to the audience. “Today, I was gonna let [Angel] go,” she said. “I was gonna let you go, right, but what did I do? I f–ked someone on the crew, right?” she revealed.
“Angel, Angel. I’m not losing you. You hear me? You are f–king important to me,” Mock continued. “I don’t want to live in a house alone. I want you. You motherf–ker. Right there. That’s who I want. I’m getting what’s mine.”
Mock concluded her speech by slamming the industry over the illusion of inclusion, saying sarcastically: “It means so much to everyone to ensure that we enable Black and brown trans women to make it.”
“That sounds good, right?” she continued. “It makes you comfortable, me talking like that. Because then I don’t scare you into facing the f—ing truth: You all have stomped on us.”The third and final season of Pose” kicks off on May 2. theGRIO previously reported, the show details the lives of ballroom performers in New York City in the 80s.
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Pose made its debut on the airwaves in 2018 on FX to critical acclaim as it put a spotlight on the LGBTQ+ ballroom community. Co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Steven Canals, Pose was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards during its inaugural season. Porter won an Emmy for Lead Actor in 2019.
“This is what Pose taught me,” Mock said during the premiere party on Thursday. “I stand up taller in the world because of this show. I know that I matter because of this show. I have a voice because of this show.”
Last month, it was announced that Pose would be coming to an end.
“I’m filled with gratitude to our intrepid writers, cast, crew, and producers who worked tirelessly to make Pose come to life, humbled by our loyal audience, thankful to the ballroom community who trusted us to tell their story, overwhelmed by the critics who warmly embraced us, and forever indebted to Ryan Murphy, FX, and 20th Television for changing my life,” Canals said in a statement.
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