Laverne Cox and Friend Targeted In Transphobic Attack

Laverne Cox had a terrifying experience at Griffith Park over the weekend.

The “Orange Is the New Black” actress detailed a transphobic attack on her Instagram page Sunday, telling her followers she was simply out for a walk with one of her male friends when the incident occurred.

Explaining she was wearing a mask and hoodie to be somewhat incognito, Cox said a man came up to them and “very aggressively” asked them what time it was. While Cox ignored him — “that’s just the New Yorker in me” — her friend politely told the man the time. He then asked, “Guy or girl?”, prompting her friend to reply, “F–k off.”

“I’m walking, I’m hearing all this is happening in a split second and all of a sudden, the guy is attacking my friend and I look back and I was like, ‘What is happening?'” she recalled. “The guy is like hitting my friend and I’m like, Holy shit. I pull out my phone to dial 9-1-1 and all of a sudden it’s over and the guy is gone. I put my phone away like, ‘What just happened?'”

“That’s happened to me a lot,” explained Cox. “It doesn’t always come to blows, it doesn’t always get physical, but I’ve had a long history of street harassment in New York. It was just really, really weird.”

Saying that both she and her friend were “safe” and “fine,” she praised her buddy for de-escalating the situation. “It’s not safe in the world and I don’t like to think about that a lot but it is the truth,” she added. “It’s not safe if you’re a trans person. It’s just really sad.”

Cox explained her friend believes the man “really wanted me to answer so that he could spook whether I’m trans or not.” She added, “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? Who cares? How does this affect your life?”

“This dude was looking for trouble because I happened to be a trans person in public? That’s all it felt like,” she added. “This isn’t shocking to me, this has been my life, I’ve dealt with it a lot. It never fails to be shocking. I’ve been harassed and bullied my whole life. None of this is new, but it’s still just kind of like, who cares, why do you need to be aggressive?”

While Cox said she’s always “very careful” about where she goes in public, she added that, It doesn’t matter who you are, you can be Laverne Cox — whatever that means — and, if you’re trans, you’re gonna experience stuff like this.”

She closed out her video by telling her followers to “stay safe out there” and “be aware of your surroundings,” but never blame yourself for attacks like these.

“I think it’s important to remind myself and remind you that, when these things happen, it’s not your fault … that there are people who are not cool with you existing in the world,” she said. “It was not my friend’s fault, it was not my fault that this happened. It’s not your fault if something like this happens to you, be as safe as you can, if you can travel with friends, great. Just be safe out there, be careful.”

Cox’s comments were flooded with heartfelt messages from celebrity followers.

“That’s a lot to process You seem like your back on solid ground now. Good job,” commented Sharon Stone. “I’m so sorry. So glad you are safe,” added Jessica Alba.

“Stay strong beautiful sister,” Lee Daniels wrote, while Kelly Osbourne commented, “love you! Thank god you are safe!!!!”