The hit FX series Pose was the star of the night at the TrevorLIVE gala in Los Angeles on Sunday, and the cast and creators used the event to push for a political revolution for LGBTQ rights.
Producer and director Ryan Murphy and co-creator Steven Canals were joined by castmates including Billy Porter, MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, and James Van Der Beek to honor the show, which has been renewed for a second season. Pose has been praised by critics for its depiction of New York City's ball culture and transgender community during the 1980s AIDS crisis, and a majority black and brown cast that includes five transgender actresses.
During arrivals on the orange carpet, co-creator Steven Canals told PRIDE that it was incredible to see a series like Pose picked up by FX with Ryan Murphy at the helm.
"I spent so much time going in and out of executives' offices, being told this story's too niche, too trans, it was just too much. I thought it would never get made," Canals said.
He praised the ongoing work of the Trevor Project, saying, "I think what they're doing is so critically important, especially when we're talking about our current administration and how LGBTQ lives are constantly being questioned. The truth is, our lives matter and our voices matter."
Dominique Jackson, who plays Elektra Abundance in the series, told PRIDE about her activism work on college campuses, and why it's important for groups like the Trevor Project to reach out to young people.
"We have to support these kids who have been ostracized from families, from societies, who do not believe that they can ever make it in life or fulfill their dreams."
She said that many of the students she spoke to were able to better understand themselves because someone stepped up and supported them.
"We need someone to be able to say, 'I support you, I help you. I'm not here to judge you, I'm not here to "tolerate" or "accept" you, I'm here to respect you and I want you to grow.'"
Tony Award-winning actor Billy Porter agreed, telling PRIDE, "The Trevor Project's for the kids. We've got to reach out to the kids and make sure they're okay, and take care of them."
Breakout star Indya Moore used fashion to make a strong statement at the event, painting the colors of the Trans Pride flag across her chin.
"Black trans women are beautiful, and I think that once black trans women are free, we're all free," she said. "The trans flag, this makeup on my face, is a symbol of life in a time of hate."
She pointed out that the transgender community is one of the most vulnerable and marginalized in the world, particularly in the Trump era. "We're working with an administration that is working very hard to erase us, and putting this on my face is a symbol of how impossible that is."
Moore called on the queer community and its allies to show up for trans people. "We are heroes, we are in the front lines of every activist movement, [but] we barely see anybody in the front lines of our movement. I want to raise awareness in my community and I just want people to support us. We don't have the support of our families and our community and our friends like the majority of so many people."
Ryan Murphy and the cast of Pose accept the Hero Award at TrevorLIVE.
At the end of the TrevorLIVE benefit dinner that raised more than $250,000 to help prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth, producer Ryan Murphy joined the creators and cast of Pose onstage to accept the Hero Award, presented by Janet Mock. He used the opportunity to issue a direct challenge to Washington D.C.
"Along with supporting the important lifeline that is [the Trevor Project], why don't we consider ever targeting the people who are causing the problem here?" he said to loud applause. "The homophobes, the trans naysayers, and the small, restricted and dangerous minds who are causing so many young people to needlessly hate themselves in our country, when what they should be receiving from us is love and support and understanding?"
Addressing politicians who have stirred up anti-LGBTQ sentiment to rally their base, he declared, "We can get votes too, and we can fight back, and I think in the tradition of Harvey Milk that it's time that we did."
Murphy announced that the creators of Pose would be launching a corporate-funded multi-million dollar campaign for the 2020 election to target 20 anti-LGBTQ politicans in Congress, including Iowa's Rep. Steve King and South Carolina's Sen. Lindsey Graham, and support efforts to vote them out of office.
"We are going to send a message which says you cannot make discrimination against us a political virtue anymore," he said. "You cannot keep killing our vulnerable young people by promoting and nationalizing your rural, close-minded, anti-constitutional viewpoints. Maybe if candidates in the future can see that embracing these viewpoints can lead to being kicked out of office and losing something tangible, the conversation could shift and change."
The 2018 TrevorLIVE Los Angeles gala, hosted by Eugene Lee Yang, helped raise more than $1.5 million in donations from across the country, and featured performances by Lauren Jauregui, Deborah Cox, and Pose castmates Billy Porter, MJ Rodriguez and Our Lady J. AT&T was the presenting sponsor for the event, and was presented the 20/20 Visionary Award.
