The Pose star discusses her history-making Emmy nomination and what’s next.
Michaela Jaecouldn’t sleep the night before the Television Academy was set to announce this year’sEmmynominees in July.
“I know exactly what they’re thinking right now.
Michaela Jaé.Lia Clay Miller for EW
I know they don’t see me as a woman.
I know that,” she said.
“They don’t have to tell me.
All she wanted was a nomination.
She didn’t expect to win and still doesn’t.
Would things change this year?
Had she made a big enough impression?
Those questions lingered on her mind come that morning in July.
Then, she made history… again.
“I just ran to my mother.
She grabbed me and swing me around,” Rodriguez now recalls.
“My godmother gave me the biggest hug and kept screaming, ‘You deserve it!’
For a long time, I didn’t feel like I was deserving of these things.
There’s so much stacked against us when we identify as trans.
I had all these insecurities.
I fell into my boyfriend’s arms and I just started crying.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The last time we spoke, you had some pretty frank words for awards voters.
You felt they didn’t see you as a woman.
Has that feeling changed?
So, yes, I do.
It’s still good that people are understanding and learning and educating themselves.
That’s the best thing.
That was my main goal.
I didn’t want my trans-ness to dampen the work I do as an artist.
I just want my art to be seen and to be fulfilled through love.
In one ofPose’s final scenes, all these characters are recognizing Blanca as the woman she’s become.
What did that moment mean to you compared to this Emmy nomination?
Posewas such a big part of your life.
Does it feel like your life has kind of halted almost?
You’ve been working on that for so long and now it’s finished.
Believe it or not, no.
You know how when you go on a roller coaster and it goes up?
It takes a while to get up there.
It’s been so positively nerve wracking, but it’s because you’re like, “Oh God!
It’s going up.
I can’t wait until we get to the drop.”
I feel like we’ve been on such a roll it hasn’t really stopped.
So, it’s been good.
I don’t think it’s going to stop.
You have an Apple TV+ comedy series with Maya Rudolph coming up.
When do you start filming?
We start preproduction in August and start shooting in September.
I get to be a totally different character from Blanca.
I get to exhibit some versatility and show people that I’m funny and foolish as all hell.
I never thought that would happen.
I thought these opportunities were not accessible.
I can’t wait until the other opportunities come.
You also havea single for “Something to Say"out in the world.
Can we expect a full album?
I’m actually working on that right now.
I’m going to just keep doing as much as I can.
Music was my first passion.
That’s how I felt in the music, in the lyrics.
It expresses how people have so much more in common than we realize.
The album is being worked on and hopefully that’ll come out sooner than later.
So, yeah, a girl is trying to work her butt off.
