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Actress Laverne Cox and a friend are safe after a man launched a transphobic attack on them in Griffith Park.
In a 10-minute Instagram Live video that includes profanity, the “Orange Is the New Black” alum recently detailed the incident, which happened as she and a friend were walking the trails of Los Angeles during the holiday weekend. As they were walking, a man approached them, “aggressively” asked for the time and said, “Guy or girl?” before attacking Cox’s friend.
“I look back, and I’m like, what’s going on?” Cox said on Saturday. “The guy hits my friend. My friend goes to him. And I’m like, ‘Holy s-,’ and I pull out my phone and call 911 … Suddenly it’s over and the guy is gone.
Cox was left “triggered” and “in shock” by the violent encounter, which she said “never fails to be shocking” despite its “long history of street harassment in New York.”
“It’s happened to me before,” she says. “I’ve been trans my whole life. I have been harassed and bullied my whole life. None of this is new, but it’s still kind of like, “Who cares? then “Why do you need to be aggressive?”
At first, Cox said she debated sharing her story on social media and wondered what she “could have done differently”, before realizing that “it’s not my fault that it s. ‘is produced’. She also thanked her friend, who immediately recognized Cox as the “target” of the attack and defused the situation.
“It is important for me to remember and remind you that when these things happen, it is not your fault,” she continued. “It’s not your fault if there are people out there who are not cool with you. … We have the right to walk in the park.
Cox, who made history in 2014 as the first transgender actress to be nominated for an Emmy Award, has often used her platform to raise awareness about violence and discrimination against trans women. And earlier this year, she produced and appeared on “Disclosure,” a Netflix documentary exploring Hollywood’s complicated history of trans portrayal and its real-life implications.
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, “More than one in four trans people have experienced stigma-based assault, and the rates are higher for trans women and trans people of color.”
“Living in fear is not a good thing,” Cox said on Saturday. “But… I’ve always been very careful about where I go and what I do, and I’m very conscious every time I leave the house because of my history of this stuff.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are. You can be Laverne Cox – whatever that means – and if you’re trans … you’re going to experience things like that.
After uploading his latest Instagram post, Cox received a surge of love and support from his entertainment peers, including “Little Fires Everywhere” star Kerry Washington, “Lovecraft Country” actress Jamie. Chung, performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon and “Pose” star Indya Moore.
“It’s not safe in the world,” Cox said. “And I don’t like to think about it too much, but it’s the truth. It is the truth and it is not sure if you are a trans person. Obviously, I know that. It’s just really sad.
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