After experiencing a transphobic attack in Los Angeles on Saturday, Laverne Cox is speaking out about the assault and offering words of encouragement to the trans community where this type of encounter is, sadly, all too common. Cox, who described being “in shock,” broke down the attack in an Instagram video, and how it started with a man “aggressively” asking Cox and her friend for the time. He then asked “Guy or girl?” and that’s when Cox knew the situation was going south. As she attempted to walk ahead and leave the man behind, things turned violent. “The guy is like hitting my friend, and then my friend is going toward him and I’m like ‘holy sh*t.’ I pull out my phone, and I call to dial 911, and all of a sudden it’s over and the guy is gone,” Cox says.
As Cox shares in her video, this type of attack is not new to her. “It’s not safe if you’re a trans person,” Cox says, but she’ll still never understood the motivation behind it. Via The Hollywood Reporter:
“The guy really wanted me to answer so that he could spook whether I’m trans or not,” Cox said. “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?”
Despite feeling shaken by the attack, Cox encouraged the trans community to be strong in the face of ever present threats. “It’s not your fault that there are people not cool with you existing in the world,” Cox said. “We have a right to walk in the park.”
(Via Laverne Cox on Instagram)