September 24, 2019
Angelica Ross Takes Social Media Break After Twitter Hate
Sam Cronin READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Angelica Ross ("Pose," "American Horror Story") made headlines Friday when she became the first openly trans person to host a presidential forum.
The LGBTQ Presidential Forum – cohosted by The Advocate, GLAAD, One Iowa and The Gazette – is the first of two forums intended to give voters a clearer idea on the Democratic candidates' ideas on LGBTQ issues. During the forum, Ross asked hard-hitting questions of the candidates, most notably former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris.
"I was disappointed to not see all of the candidates here," she said to the Guardian. "I was further disappointed to hear this was not the only LGBTQ event Bernie was making other commitments for. You don't show up for both of our LGBTQ events? That's obviously telling us all we need to know."
She went on: "What I hope Bernie would learn is you don't have to pander to just one aspect of the black community. If he would have been at the LGBTQ forum tonight, he would have seen we were talking about issues affecting people of color. I think it was a huge misstep on his part. And I'm not here for any of the excuses. I say: 'Make it up to me. Make it up to us.'"
Ross received lots of criticism from Sanders supporters, who argued that the candidate's having prior obligations shouldn't be used to imply he is not an LGBTQ ally.
During the forum, Ross also made a point of calling out the Trump administration for it's lackluster support of the LGBTQ community, further sparking Twitter backlash.
"One of the reasons I'm here tonight, is because the Trump administration is harming transgender Americans," she said,
"They made it more difficult for homeless trans people to access shelters, and every Education Secretary Betsy Devos, however you say her name, her decision to stop investigating the complaints of trans students, hurts trans students across the country, when Secretary Devos should be helping to make sure every student can learn," she added.
In response to all the criticism, Ross tweeted that she would be taking a social media break and letting her team handle her accounts.
Ross was still active during the break, attending the Emmy's and even taking over Glamour Magazine's Instagram story during the ceremony.
