Laverne Cox Hopes Her Tragic "Orange Is The New Black" Storyline Will Raise Awareness Of Trans Struggle
Laverne Cox stopped by E! to chat about the heartbreaking storyline her character, Sophia, endures during Orange is the New Black's current third season, and her hope that its graphic nature will highlight the violence towards trans people that exists, especially trans women.
"My storyline this season got really real," the Emmy nominated actress revealed. "Too real in some ways. But that is the brilliance of this art form we get to do."
Cox touches on this season's infamous "salon scene," where (spoiler alert) Sophia is brutally jumped by three other inmates targeting her for being trans.
[The salon scene] was deeply triggering for me. Violence towards trans women is an issue I talk a lot about.
When I got the script, I knew that it was bigger than me, that this storyline touches so many people, and I was hoping that if we really go there, and the viewers who've fallen in love with Sophia see it, maybe we inspire some new conversations about the violence that trans people experience, in prison and in our daily lives.
Cox has had quite the month, posing for the cover of Entertainment Weekly...
...hosting an auction at the amfAR Inspiration Gala last week (and looking flawless)...
...and turning it out during Broadway Bares: Top Bottoms of Burlesque over the weekend.
Iconic!
Watch Laverne's interview below.
