“It’s Not Safe In The World.” Laverne Cox Describes A Horrific Transphobic Attack She And Her Friend Were Subjected To

Laverne Cox has shared that she and a friend were the victims of an attack motivated by transphobia in Los Angeles.

The Orange Is the New Black star discussed the attack on Instagram Live two nights ago, in a video with the caption: ‘We Were Just Attacked in Griffith Park. We are fine. Be careful out there. TransIsBeautiful.’

She added in the clip: “I’m in shock and I’m triggered.”

The actress explained: “I just went for a socially distanced walk with a friend in our masks in Griffith Park. … We pass this guy, and the guy very aggressively asks for the time. … When people talk to me in the street, I usually ignore them. That’s just the New Yorker in me. My friend tells him the time. Then, the guy says to my friend: ‘Guy or girl?’ My friend says: ‘Fuck off.’”

She went on: “I’m walking, I’m hearing all of this is happening in a split second. All of a sudden, the guy is attacking my friend. I look back, I’m like: ‘What is happening?’ The guy is hitting my friend, my friend is going towards him. I’m like ‘Holy shit.’ I pull out my phone to dial 911. All of a sudden, it’s over and the guy is gone.”

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Elsewhere in the video, Laverne says she has a “long history of street harassment in New York” adding: “I can’t believe it got physical.”

Saying that she’s safe, Laverne nevertheless added: “It’s not safe in the world. It’s not safe if you’re a trans person.” She said that her friend theorized that the man “wanted me to answer [the question about the time] so he could [work out] whether I’m trans or not. I don’t know why it matters. At the end of the day, who cares?”

The comments section was flooded with those expressing their relief that Cox is okay and outrage over the ugliness of the incident. Actress Candis Cayne said, “So sorry this happened, sending love,” while Sharon Stone commented, “That’s a lot to process. You seem like you’re back on solid ground now. Good job.”