Laverne Cox Says She Was Target of Transphobic Attack in Los Angeles Park

LOS ANGELES - SEP 22: Laverne Cox at the Primetime Emmy Awards - Arrivals at the Microsoft Theater on September 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA — Photo by Jean_Nelson

Laverne Cox and a friend were rattled, but not seriously hurt during an attack Saturday in a popular Los Angeles park.

The Orange Is the New Black alum took to Instagram Live after she got home to explain what happened. Cox said she and a male friend were walking in Griffith Park when a man approached them and “very aggressively asked for the time.”

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The transgender actress said the man then asked if she is a “guy or girl?” In response, Cox said her friend told the man to “f—k off” and he became violent.

“I look back, and I’m like, what is happening?” Cox said in a 10-minute video. “The guy is hitting my friend. My friend is going towards him. And I’m like, ‘Holy s—,’ and I pull out my phone and call 911… and all of the sudden, it’s over and the guy is gone.”

Cox said the incident left her in shock and “super triggered,” but she and her friend are “fine.”

Still the actress noted, “It’s not safe if you’re a trans person.”

Cox was wearing a mask in the park per local COVID-19 guidelines, yet she and her friend were targeted.

It was her first time visiting Griffith Park, but she revealed she has “a long history of street harassment” back in New York.

“I’ve dealt with this a lot, but it never fails to be shocking,” she said. “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.”


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