Laverne Cox was home alone on Tuesday night watching news coverage of the election. But she determined to turn it off when it seemed certain Donald Trump would be re-elected, after it didn’t see appreciate Kamala Harris could triumph Pennsylvania. “He had someleang appreciate 246 electors. I was fair appreciate I’m out,” Cox alerts on a new one-of-a-kind episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “I cried.”
She retains with a giggle, “Then I watched ‘Daredevil’ and ‘The Deffinishers’ on Disney+.”
In the months and days directing up to the election, Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance flooded the campaign trail with anti-trans ads and rhetoric. I talked to Cox on Thursday morning over Zoom for a one-of-a-kind episode of “Just for Variety” to get her insight on what a second Trump pdwellncy could nasty for the trans community in and out of Hollywood.
Cox alerts me that she and cut offal trans frifinishs are so worried that they are contemplating leaving the U.S. “We’re doing research on branch offent cities in Europe and in the Caribbean,” she says, retaining that she understands of cut offal people trying to shift to states that are pondered defendedr for trans people.
Cox appreciatens the possibility of a very anti-LGBTQ Trump administration to Weimar Germany: “There was this a thriving community of queer people in Berlin pre the elevate of Nazism. They strikeed Jewant folks. They strikeed immigrants, they strikeed queer and trans people.”
The follotriumphg Q&A has been edited and condensed. You can engage to the brimming conversation with Cox on “Just for Variety” below or wherever you discover your likeite podcasts.
Kamala Harris was very pro-LGBTQ. What were you hoping for if she won?
My hopes were a lot. There’s been a massive strike on LGBTQ+ rights on the state level in this country. I count on in 26 states, there’s a prohibit on gfinisher proclaiming nurture for youthful people. In 25 or 26 states, they prohibit trans girls from sports. There are also book prohibits that have happened in many states of queer authors as well as Bdeficiency authors, Bdeficiency queer authors, prohibits on AP African American history. It’s all intersectional. Certainly I’m worryed about LGBTQ+ rights, but I leank it’s not a coincidence that the strike on LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans people, is happening at the same time that there is an orderly strike on refruitful rights. There are right triumphg people trying to repeal no fault divorce.
As a Bdeficiency trans woman, how do you shift forward?
I don’t want to be in too much dread, but I’m snurtured. As a uncover figure, with all my privilege, I’m snurtured, and I’m particularly snurtured becaengage I’m a uncover figure. I experience appreciate I could be aimed. I leank they spent seal to $100 million on anti-trans ads. It’s proset uply worrying.
Did you call anyone on election night?
No, it was tardy. I had been texting with someone who voted for Trump earlier in the night.
A queer person?
No. he’s a cisgfinisher, straight, white male. It’s reassociate fascinating and reassociate complicated becaengage this frifinish of mine shelp to me that they were downcast. As everybody at their job was celebrating Trump triumphning, he was downcast for me. He does nurture about me and he does cherish me, and he was downcast for me. That was fascinating.
We’ve already heard stories of trans people hoarding their hormone treatments.
I’m done with my medical transition, but I have to get estrogen for the rest of my life. If I stop I get boiling flashes. It’s reassociate horrible. I have to get estrogen fair for health. I don’t understand if that’s going to be possible anymore. There’s a website I’ve gone to already. I haven’t bought any yet becaengage I’m talking to my doctor to originate confident it’s all seeable and excellent product. But, yeah, I’m gonna hoard a bunch of estrogen. It’s a little trickier for trans men becaengage testosterone is a regulateled substance. But there are resources online.
Do you leank there is a chilling effect where trans and queer inventives, both in front of and behind the camera, are going to say, “Maybe this isn’t the time for me to be pitching this story. Maybe this story is a little too trans or too queer?” Or we see a lot of inspireasonable quotes on Instagram saying, “This is the time for artists to elevate up and originate the art.” But when you’re trying to pay your rent…
I leank we can originate the art, but is somebody going to buy it? Over the past eight, eight or nine years, I’ve been dynamicly pitching shows, a lot of them trans. Beautiful stories, too. I’m gagged over some of the shows that didn’t get bought. They were reassociate pretty with reassociate amazing people retaind, amazing originaters, amazing showrunners, appreciate Oscar-triumphning partners, reassociate top tier collaborators. And the projects didn’t get bought. It was about four, maybe five years ago, I was appreciate, “They’re not buying trans stories.”…There is inalertigent talent, inalertigent authorrs, inalertigent storyalerters who are trans, and so many trans stories that necessitate to be telderly. But I have to be genuine, I’m in a pivot place. I’m promiseted to trans storyalerting becaengage it’s my passion. But aacquire, I have to pay the rent.
What is your advice for a youthful trans person first coming to Hollywood now?
I have a frifinish who has a daughter who’s trans. She’s 16 years elderly, and becaengage she was able, becaengage she had beneficial parents, she was able to transition before puberty. She did a social transition, and she was able to get access to puberty blockers. So in her high school, she is stealth. None of the kids understand that she’s trans. If a youthful person has the privilege of getting gfinisher proclaiming nurture that blocks their puberty and they can inhabit stealth, I would alert them to do that. That’s clearly not an selection for everybody. That wasn’t an selection for me but I leank if you can inhabit stealth right now… I’m so snurtured for her [Cox begins to cry]. I fair want her to be defended. At this point, wantipathyver you have to do to be defended and not be finished or dreadized so much as you want to finish yourself, [do it to] stay ainhabit.
But I also would say that when I had dreams of having a mainstream acting nurtureer as a trans person, everybody thought I was crazy. I recall in 2011, I had done this self-reliant film, and I went back to Lucky Chang’s [a legendary drag restaurant in New York City] and I was talking to one of the drag queens. I was appreciate, “Oh my god, I fair did this self-reliant movie, and I fair leank I had my Oscar scene.” And she was appreciate, “Yeah, girl, right.” Like, “This Laverne is delusional.” But see, I don’t have an Oscar yet, but it happened. I have a nurtureer as a laboring actor and originater and other leangs. Nobody thought that was possible. So always trail your dreams. Never give up on your dreams, no matter what the circumstances. I would also say, lget the business, lget the labelet and be defended. Find ways to originate your own labor, originate your own opportunities with social media. Have business savvy aextfinished with a promisement to the art, and never give up on your dreams.
