Actress Laverne Cox Target Of Transphobic Attack At Griffith Park
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Actress Laverne Cox took to social media over the weekend to say that she and a friend were safe after a man attacked them at Griffith Park.
Cox said she and her friend were taking a social distance walk on the popular trail to catch up on Saturday when a man "very aggressively" asked for the time as he passed them.
"The guy who asked for the time says to my friend, 'Guy or girl,'" Cox said in the video.
She said the guy then started physically attacking her friend, but fled the scene when Cox called police.
"This just happened," she said. "I'm like, I can't even. ... Definitely in shock, definitely triggered."
Cox said she debated sharing her story on social media at first, before realizing that it was not her fault that the transphobic attack happened.
"Part of what was going on in my head, which is like what could I have done differently, and I started blaming myself," she said. "We were walking in the park, like we weren't doing anything ... so I think it's important for me to remind myself and remind you that when these things happen, it's not your fault.
"It's not your fault that there are people who are not cool with you existing in the world," she continued. "It was not my friend's fault, it's not my fault that this happened. We have a right to walk in the park."
She also thanked her friend for de-escalating the situation, and posted a follow-up video about the incident Monday.