Emerson was born in Vero Beach, Florida and studied for a BFA in performance and directing at the University of Miami, from which he graduated in 2009.
[11] He aimed to raise $150,000 for the project via Indiegogo and give half of any profits made to charities benefiting LGBT people.
[20] From September 7 to 24, 2017, he starred as Mitchell in Douglas Carter Beane's comedy play The Little Dog Laughed at the Red House Arts Center in Syracuse, New York.
[21] A local reviewer said each of the four actors in the play "brings a memorable, engaging performance", and that Emerson "delivers the role of a sweet, confused, and occasionally thoughtless young star with sensitivity and kindness".
[22] Emerson wrote an autobiography, Hot Sissy – Life Before Flashbulbs, describing his teenage years growing up in a "redneck" area of Florida.
[13][12] In May 2017, French comic TV presenter Cyril Hanouna used one of Emerson's torso pictures to set up a catfishing profile on a gay dating site, and tricked the men who responded to the profile into revealing sexual fantasies to him while he was live on his show Touche pas à mon poste !.