A Playful Post Sparks OutrageIt started, as so many 2025 stories do, with a post on social media.The multifaceted Angelica Ross posted a playful throwback selfie with Michael B. Jordan. The caption? An unmistakable wink: "To be clear you had no idea it was a date, but I was in Lalaland with you." Within hours, the likes climbed into five figures100,000+ likes as of this writingwith more than a million views, and Ross's DMs and comments turned into a minefield ranging from praise to jokes, smirking disbelief, and some death threats.Why? Because some could not believe a Black trans woman could ever be a source of attraction, especially as a supposed paramour of one of Hollywood's leading men. View this post on Instagram A post shared by A N G E L I C A (@angelicaross)Navigating Online Backlash To be clear, and reiterating for those in the proverbial back, Ross has and will continue to claim that this was all a fun, light-hearted throwback post. But for one reason or another, folks piled on her as fast as a sample sale. "I'm in the thick of it," she exhaled, equal parts weary and wickedly amused as she was still answering emails as we prepped for our interview. "I voluntarily assume the appropriate karma, as we say in Buddhism."Ross's calling and the karma that accompany her have not always been calm. From her breakout on Pose to her congressional flirtations and laser-focused advocacy, she has become a lightning rod for conversations that America can't decide whether to have or to ignore.But even she was stunned by the ferocity unleashed over one post."I didn't really know it was a thing until it was a thing," she stresses. "There were people that were in my DM saying, 'This is how you girls end up dead. You're next.'" What shook her most wasn't the predictable troll chorus; it was the swift rally by some Black queer folks to protect a cis, straight heartthrob they'd never met. "They felt like I was doing something that could harm Michael B. Jordan and his career," she remembers.The Complexities of AllyshipThat bias, Ross believes, is the tip of a very grim iceberg, reflecting the continued policing of Black trans bodies: our dreams, our determinations, and our desires. And while we may think it's the usual suspects, some of the sharpest daggers come from inside the (LGBTQ+ and Allied) house.Cue the receipts: she ticks off Democratic strategists who urged trans activists to "quiet down" during election season to those pundits and podcasters expressing a range of disdain from pronoun uses to drawing the line between the 'LGB' and 'T.' Most recently, reality TV grand dame Nene Leakes declared on her show in conversation with TS Madison that she'd never date a man who'd been with a trans woman. "Again, it's [sic] goes back to me saying, 'What is an ally?'" she muses. "Because Nene would consider herself an ally, right?" At the same time, Leakes and those like her teach audiences how to internalize transphobia, going so far as to question the sexuality of men attracted to trans women.A quick tip: Many don't identify as gay.Allyship to the community doesn't stop with the 'B,' and Ross refuses to let the word "ally" float by unchecked. Real support, she insists, is measured in risk and receipts: showing up when the optics get messy and funneling dollars directly into trans-led projects when corporate sponsors turn their backs.Community Resilience and Action She has recent evidence of what that looks like. After being quietly dropped from a booking this spring, Ross used Delta miles to fly herself to New York so her animated series Captain Zero wouldn't premiere without her at Tribeca, curated by Whoopi Goldberg. Fellow activist Daniella Carter housed her during the visit. Meanwhile, the Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (BTFA) Collective underwrote a marathon day of podcast tapings featuring prominent trans New Yorkers. A scattering of individual trans and queer donors filled gaps left by backers.Time and time again, when trans folks are left out of rooms and opportunities, we don't wallow in the dust. We get up, turn inward to our fellow queer and trans siblings, and get things done. "And when you see what we were able to produce together, this is going to show you what community is," Angelica asserts.When asked if Michael B. Jordan or his team had reached out since the post, sadly, there was no response. Angelica hoped they would have at least made light of the matter as well, affirming the joke of it all. But, more importantly, to showcase allyship in practice. "Pride Month would have been a perfect moment for a little ally magic." She paused, giving a slight shrug, a mix of diva and student of Dharma. And even if he remains silent, the lesson still lands. Everyone who clutched pearls exposed their own bias, and maybe next time, they'll read the caption before they demean, bemoan, and threaten a Black trans woman's life.Think the Unimaginable; Dream the ImpossibleIn the meantime, Ross will continue to post, dream, and, most crucially, keep fighting. "The fight is here," she reminds me. "We won't win without everybody on board." Angelica has, and forever will, always be centered, whether the skies are clear or the trolls are circling.It seems like those within and beyond our community are determined in some form or fashion to police trans bodies now more than ever. And, for some, that impacts us to the point that we may minimize our aspirations. But what if the most radical thing we could do is keep dreaming in public? To keep celebrating our physical and emotional transformations at every stage, not just when society (or we) think our journey is complete. To post our partnersand, occasionally, the tradewithout emojis or pixelating their faces in fear of how society will see them.Do we not have the right to dare, dream, and fall in love in the daylight?Angelica Ross offers the answers, not just in theory but in action. Think big, post the selfie, and let whatever karma comes your way be your guide. Because the revolution, like the perfect date, always starts with an invitation to imagine more.