‘Pose’ Alum Indya Moore Calls Out Ryan Murphy for Silence on Trans Rights

Indya Moore is calling on Ryan Murphy to speak up for trans people.

The Pose alum — who starred as Angel Evangelista in the FX series before its conclusion in 2021, and uses she/her and they/them pronouns — addressed the series’ co-creator in an emotional Instagram Live on Sunday, Sept. 28, and accused him of not standing up for the trans community in the years since Pose wrapped.

After she thanked those who have “given us jobs” and helped “us to speak out” during a lengthy clip later shared to her Instagram profile, Moore, 30, reiterated that trans people in the U.S. “really need” support before mentioning Murphy, 59, by name.

“The fact that Ryan Murphy has been this silent… like, we really pissed you off that much, Ryan? Who upset you that much, Janet [Mock] really pissed you off that much,” Moore asked, referring to the director, executive producer and writer who worked on Pose and previously reportedly questioned why she wasn’t paid more for her work on the show. (Mock is also a former PEOPLE staffer.)

Moore later asked, “how is it that you can do something like Pose during the Donald Trump administration, then it’s like… Poof… It’s gone.”

“It’s like garbage. It’s like an embarrassment. Like, that’s how it feels,” Moore said before telling Murphy “we need you to do more.”

“You need to address the racism, the violence, and the targeting of people on your productions … you do need to make sure trans people are paid equally.”

Earlier in the Instagram Live, which lasted roughly 30 minutes, Moore expressed her gratitude for “everybody who has ever supported trans people ever” and said they were “really hurt” over the treatment of the trans community in the U.S. “Trans people need you. We have been coping for too long. Lift us up alongside everyone else,” Moore captioned the video, tagging Ryan Murphy Productions.

Laverne Cox commented underneath Moore’s post, showing her appreciation. “Love you so much my sister,” she wrote. “This call to action, this call to love, this call for empathy, acknowledging each other’s humanity both intra-community and for those who proclaim allyship.”

“I’ve been weeping just like this. Weeping. But not showing it. But I hear you. I feel you deeply. I’m right there too,” Cox added.

Pose, which won four Emmys during its three-season run, also starred Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson and Dyllón Burnside, among others. The series followed New York City ballroom culture within the gay and trans community amid the rising AIDS crisis in the late ’80s and early ’90s. It was created by Murphy alongside Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals.

Murphy previously told Entertainment Weekly in 2018 — in the midst of Trump’s first term as president — that the trans community “has always needed champions and advocates,” and that he “thought now is the perfect time.”

“I think the power of television is incredible,” he said. “I feel like if you put characters in front of viewers, even if they’re not like you, but you learn about them and you love them, it will change your worldview and lead to acceptance. I’ve seen it.”

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Speaking to PEOPLE at the series’ third-season premiere in 2021, Murphy said he felt those behind the show “told it in just the perfect” way. “I never felt any episode was anything other than intentional — you can’t always say that in television,” he said. “So it felt perfect to me and I love how it ended and I love everything about it.”

Pose can be streamed in full on Hulu.