Laverne Cox has opened up about being attacked in public, claiming that it is "not safe if you're a trans person."
In a ten-minute-long video shared with her 4.4 million Instagram followers, the 48-year-old Orange Is The New Black actress spoke about how she and a friend had been attacked by a man while taking a walk through a park in New York, in an incident Cox believes was motivated primarily by bigotry and transphobia.
Take a look at Cox's video on the distressing incident here:In the video in question, Cox states that the incident occurred when an irate man asked her and her friend for the time while they were taking a stroll in Griffith Park, which quickly escalated into violence when the stranger misgendered her and then physically assaulted them.
Per Pink News, a shaken and upset Cox states:
"The friend that I’m with looks at his watch and tells him the time and then the guy who asked for the time says to my friend: 'Guy or girl?' My friend says: 'F**k off.'"
Cox continued:
"The guy really wanted me to answer so that he could spook whether I'm trans or not. I don’t know why, I don't know why it matters. At the end of the day, it's like: 'who cares?'"
"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's not safe in the world.
She added:
"And I don't like to think about that a lot, but it's the truth. It's the truth and it's not safe if you're a trans person. Obviously, I know this well. It's just really sad."
"Obviously, this is my life. I’ve dealt with this a lot, but it never fails to be shocking. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can be Laverne Cox, you know, or whatever that means. If you’re trans… you’re going to experience stuff like this."
A number of Cox's fans and followers swiftly took to the comments to lend her their support and commiseration over the incident.
Cox later returned to her Instagram account to post a follow-up video, thanking everyone who had supported her in the aftermath of the assault. In the caption for the video, she wrote: "Follow up on the Incident Which took Place on Saturday Thank you all for the love and support TransIsBeautiful. [sic]"
