Laverne Cox revealed that she lost nearly 90% of her income due to DEI rollbacks.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Cox claimed that her earnings evaporated because of the Trump-era assault on “gender ideology.”
“Even though I’d be teaching a graduate acting class, it could be perceived as promoting trans ideology,” she noted. These are the realities. I’m not complaining – I’m very blessed. I think the important thing to note is that if Laverne Cox’s income has gone down significantly, what about all the other trans people who are not as privileged and as blessed as I am? There are material consequences for this kind of discrimination and scapegoating.”
Cox also said that all trans people are under attack because of the current administration’s policies.
“If we don’t wake up and don’t understand, trans people will be exterminated,” Cox said. “People’s rights are being taken away. People are losing their jobs, people are losing healthcare, and people are being detransitioned in prison; gender-affirming care is being attacked.
:Not just for children but also for adults,” Cox continued. “It’s never been about protecting women – it’s always been about creating a permission structure to scapegoat trans people. To dehumanise trans people, to take away our rights and to eliminate us from public life.”
Cox’s memoir, titled Transcendent: A Memoir, is set for release in June 2026. The book is structured into three parts, tracing her deeply personal journey from her youth to her breakout role on Orange Is the New Black and her subsequent life in the public eye.
“It’s setting myself free from the shame that festers in secrecy,” said Cox. “You think: ‘If people know this thing about me, I will not be lovable.’ ‘There are certain things you should never tell people’ is what my mother would always say. And I lived by that. But that doesn’t work.”