Laverne Cox recently took to Instagram to open up about a recent violent transphobic experience that occurred to her this past weekend.
On Sunday (Nov. 29), the “Orange Is The New Black” actress says she was “attacked” while she and a friend were on a “socially distanced walk” in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. There, they were approached by a man who “aggressively asked for the time.”
“The guy who asked for the time says to my friend, ‘Guy or girl?’ My friend says, ‘Fuck off.’ I’m walking — I’m hearing all this happening in a split second — and then all of a sudden, the guy is attacking my friend,” she said in the almost 11-minute clip.
Cox then said she pulled out her phone to call 911, but the man quickly took off, so she decided not to call again. She also said that she wanted to record the attack, but it happened so fast she was not able to. “I’m safe, my friend is fine,” said the star, who went on to say she is “lucky and grateful” that they are okay.
“It’s not safe in the world. I don’t like to think about it a lot, but it is the truth — it’s the truth, and it’s not safe if you’re a trans person. Obviously, I know this well,” said Cox. Her friend believes she “was obviously the target.”
“I’ve dealt with this a lot, but it never fails to be shocking,” she added later. “If doesn’t matter who you are. You can be Laverne Cox, whatever that means. If you’re trans, you’re going to experience stuff like this.”
“It’s important for me to remind myself and remind you that when these things happen, it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault that there are people who are not cool with you existing in the world,” the actress said. “We have a right to walk in the park.”
The REVOLT team is sending our love and support to Cox and her friend. Check out the video clip of her explaining the incident in full below.