“It’s hammer time, bitch”: Candy Ferocity’s best ‘Pose’

Warning: Spoilers for S2E4 “Never Knew Love Like This Before”

Pose features a host of divas – but Candy Ferocity stands in her own league. Angelica Ross breathed some serious sass and attitude into Candy, making her the bane of Pray Tell, Elektra, and even sometimes Blanca. But under all that attitude, she had some mighty strong love in her heart.

So flex those vogueing muscles, get those sequins on, and put on your mourning veil. Here’s our obituary for the amazing Candy Ferocity. RIP, girl – it’ll always be hammertime when we think of you.

To find out that the co-mother of House Ferocity is no longer with us was a tragic blow last week– especially after last week’s episode during which she put her beef aside with Elektra to help bury skeletons in her closet. Candy’s presence at the ballroom is impossible to fill, and we’re guessing the characters (and we humble viewers) will mourn for Candy for seasons to come.

Candy’s demise has similarities to the death of Paris is Burning legend, real-life aspiring model Venus Xtravaganza, who was found strangled to death in 1988. It was presumed she died as a result of an intimate encounter gone wrong. Her murderer was never found.

Candy’s character also represents the number of trans women of color who are still, to this day, murdered and brutalized every year. By placing Candy’s death front & center in the narrative, the Pose creative team shines a much needed light on these statistics. In 2018 alone, 28 trans women of color were murdered and reported to the Human Rights Campaign. Even in the world of Pose, eleven trans women have been killed already in 1990.

In a show that breaks so much ground when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues, it’s important to highlight this topic as well. Similarly, the show doesn’t turn away from the truth behind the AIDS crisis, choosing to show the nasty truth behind these deaths and how they’re handled by those outside the community.

If Candy’s death has you shook, we’re hoping you take that pain & anger and put it into some activism to support our fallen sisters. As Angelica Ross said herself this week to AV Club: 

Just to say that I know a lot of you all are going to get on Twitter and going to be rioting and going to be angry that they have killed Candy off. Instead of doing that, use that energy for the Candy girls out there that are dying right now. Get angry about that right now. That’s what I want them to take away from it.

While our tribute may not ring as true as Pray Tell creating and naming a lip sync category in honor of Candy, were doing our best to honor this ferocious queen. To celebrate the light gone too soon, we’ve made a list of Candy’s strongest burns and best reads – as well as some of the brilliant wisdom she’s laid down during her short time on our screens.

“This is ballroom. Categories were created so that we could live out our fantasies. We get to be who we want to be and this is the image I want to project.”

Candy knew the truth of the ballroom better than anyone.

“I need to look like a Coke bottle but with big titties.”

Though we know how that went for her, Candy still looked great with silicone.

“You know I could sell a dildo to a nun.”

A smart mouth makes a smart saleswoman.

“It’s hammer time, bitch. You’re about to get that fourth facelift.”

Candy knew how to take down a bitch when needed, verbally and physically.

“Your problem, Blanca, is you think doing the right thing is always the right thing to do.”

Sometimes the hardest truth to hear is one without sarcasm.

“As real as that weave on your head?”

If Candy could read Elektra that hard, she could easily take down anyone.

“I’ve never had [a client] die on me. Pass out, start puking all over himself, start crying about his wife – now that happens all the time, but full-on dying? That is some f*cked-up sh*t.”

She’s been around the block, but she always treats her clients well.

“I am special; I am someone.”

No matter how much Pray Tell dragged her down, Candy knew her worth.

“Too bad Elektra isn’t here to enjoy Elektra not being here.”

Even until the end, Candy was ready to read Elektra to the ground.

“She doesn’t get to dictate my reality – I do.”

Candy: a guru for the ballroom age.

“You can’t shade something that’s shining so bright.”

Preach, girl! Here’s to your light that will shine on in our hearts.