Actress Laverne Cox says she’s ‘in shock’ after transphobic attack in California park

Actress Laverne Cox said she was the victim of a transphobic attack while walking with a friend in a Los Angeles park.

The “Orange is the New Black” star said in an Instagram video Saturday that she was “in shock” and “super triggered” after the attack at Griffith Park. She said she walking with a friend earlier that day when a man approached them and “very aggressively asked for the time.”

After her friend responded, Cox said, the man asked, “Guy or girl?”

Her friend cursed at the man, who then began hitting her friend, Cox said.

She said her friend believed the man asked the question “so he could spook whether I’m trans or not.”

“I pull out my phone and I call to dial 911, and all of a sudden it’s over and the guy is gone,” said Cox, who added that she has a “whole history of street harassment in New York.”

She is an executive producer of “Disclosure,” a Netflix documentary about transgender representation in popular culture.

“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?” Cox said of of the incident over the weekend. “How does this affect your life?”

“It’s not safe in the world and I don’t like to think about that a lot, but it is the truth,” she continued. “It’s not safe if you’re a trans person. Obviously, I know this well.”

Celebrities commented on Cox’s post with supportive messages.

“Ugh. I am so sorry. Love you,” actress Kerry Washington wrote.

“Stay strong beautiful sister,” director Lee Daniels wrote.

This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Actress Laverne Cox says she’s ‘in shock’ after transphobic attack in California park."