Jameela Jamil Is Not the Problem with HBO’s Ballroom Show ‘Legendary’
The cast and producers of HBO Max’s upcoming ballroom competition show, Legendary, would really like the backlash to die down.
The dustup began on Tuesday, when news broke that Jameela Jamil would serve as MC for the series—which draws its inspiration from a movement that gained mainstream popularity in the 1980s, after its earlier inception by largely black and Latinx queer and trans people. Jamil, who has no ballroom experience and at the time was widely perceived to be straight, seemed like the wrong person to take on such an important task—especially considering how many talented people from the community itself would have jumped at the opportunity.
But as Jamil quickly noted, and HBO Max has clarified, she will not, in fact, serve as MC; instead, she will be a lead judge, alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Law Roach, and Leiomy Maldonado. “King of Vogue” DaShaun Wesley will instead serve as MC. “It all came down to this mistake on the MC, and it was so ridiculous, but people ran on it,” executive producer David Collins told Variety in an interview published Friday. “It was brought to our attention, we changed it, and now we’re moving on.”