A new Netflix documentary about iconic trans activist Marsha P. Johnson has been getting a lot of praise. Reina Gossett has alleged that filmmaker David France used her work without permission. She is a black trans activist. In an Instagram post, she goes into detail how she is borrowing money to pay rent, but David France took her work and is now making millions of dollars.
Reina researched, archived, digitized content inaccessible for decades. She interviewed Marsha and Sylvia’s peers and she did this without pay. She proposed in a grant application to make this film. France used the work and did not give her any credit. He did not compensate her financially, despite receiving a multimillion dollar deal from Netflix to make the documentary. France said he has a long friendship with Johnson, claimed that he cleared the matter with Gossett before proceeding with the film. He also added that he supported Reina and her partner Sasha’s work
Reina Gossett is a black transgender woman who reintroduced our generation to ourselves by uncovering and recentering transgender women of color revolutionaries. A black trans woman’s work about a black trans woman was used to make a film by a credentialed white cisgender man aided by Netflix’s millions. They erased her contribution to the documentary. A documentary about a black trans woman that is created and directed by a black trans woman is a lot more meaningful than it being directed by a white cisgender man.
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