Laverne Cox rose to fame in Orange Is the New Black, and has become an advocate for the trans community in the process. She was the first trans person to be nominated for an Emmy. Over the weekend, Cox reveals that she and a friend who were walking in Griffith Park were attacked.
She captioned the video on IG: “We were just attacked in Griffith Park. We are fine. Be careful out there. #TransIsBeautiful”. In the video, she admitted that she was in shock. She said that she was wearing a mask and hoodie during the walk a man approached them and asked her friend, “girl or guy?” and then started hitting him.
Cox said: “My goodness gracious. Wow. It’s not safe in the world. I don’t like to think about it a lot, but it’s not safe. It's not safe if you're a trans person. Obviously, I know this well. It's just really sad. I’m just thinking about like we were just walking through the park, we were just catching up.”
“I don’t know why, I don’t know why it matters. At the end of the day, it’s like who cares?” Cox said. “I’m in a hoodie and yoga pants, I’m completely covered up, I’ve got my mask on. Who cares if I’m trans? How does this affect your life?”
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Cox noted. “You can be Laverne Cox, you know, or whatever that means. If you’re trans, you’re going to experience stuff like this. It’s not your fault that there are people not cool with you existing in the world. We have a right to walk in the park.”
Cox recently partnered with Citi on its True Name initiative, “a first among major banks, offering transgender and nonbinary customers the ability to use their chosen names instead of their legal name or deadname.”
Sharon Stone and Kerry Washington commented on the attack. Stone wrote: “That's a lot to process. You seem like you're back on solid ground now. Good job.”
Washington added: “Woman!!!!!!!! Ugh. I am so sorry. Love you.”
Jessica Alba offered: “I'm so sorry. So glad you are safe.”
