In a shocking revelation, Carmen Carrera has accused the writers of 'Pose' of using her life story without her permission for one of the show's main characters.
- Jun 19, 2024
AceShowbiz - "RuPaul's Drag Race" season 3 star Carmen Carrera has publicly accused Janet Mock and other "Pose" writers of basing the character Angel Evangelista on her life. Angel, a trans sex worker turned model portrayed by Indya Moore, appears on the FX drama "Pose", which spanned three seasons and prominently featured an ensemble of trans characters.
Carrera made her allegations in a social media post after a fan tagged her in a tribute to powerful trans women, including Mock - an executive producer, writer, and director on "Pose". "Sometimes with power comes oppression.. like how Janet & her writing team completely ripped off my real life storyline for Angel's character on Pose," Carmen wrote. "I was always curious why Pose had 3 seasons & the biggest trans cast but had no spots for me."
Carrera points to several personal life events covered in the media, including her wedding photos featured in PEOPLE magazine in December 2015. She notes that Mock previously worked at PEOPLE, through which the story of Carmen's marriage was publicized.
According to Carrera, elements of her life story, like her marriage and having a stepchild, were incorporated into Angel's storyline in season 3, despite these aspects not aligning with Tracey Norman's narrative, which Pose claimed to honor.
When reached by Entertainment Weekly, Carrera explained that Pose's casting team had initially shown interest in her but later went "completely ghost" without following through. She cites that "[she] never heard back about [her] participation on season 2," despite her manager being told she would eventually be cast.
Carrera's frustration deepened when Angel's character arc in season 3 included getting married and having a stepchild - elements drawn from her own life and not Tracey Norman's. This discrepancy left fans confused about the authenticity of Angel's narrative. "I'm all for telling the community's stories and being accurate and true, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the real people who actually lived the story," Carrera emphasized.
Entertainment Weekly, attempting to dig deeper, learned from a source that Carrera had auditioned for a minor role as a model but didn't book the part. Ryan Murphy's publicist, when contacted, stated that Murphy had no comment on the matter. EW's efforts to reach other representatives for comments, including Janet Mock, FX, and Indya Moore, have not yet yielded responses.
