Laverne Cox was a guest on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” last night and spoke about Caitlyn Jenner‘s transition.
“What I think is so beautiful about this — my visibility and Caitlyn’s visibility — is that diverse representation of trans people in the media is so important,” Cox said. “When I think about transitioning in my 20s, as a black transgender woman who was working class and struggling to make it in New York City, it’s completely different than Caitlyn’s very public experience.”
Cox is best known for her role as Sophia Burset on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” in which she plays a transgender inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary. She became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the acting category, and on June 26 she became the first openly transgender person to have her wax figure displayed at Madame Tussauds.
“I met [Caitlyn] for the first time last night … pretty awesome. We had spoken on the phone several times. She called me the day after her ESPYs speech — she’s such a sweet woman! Loves her family.”
However, Cox said that she cannot imagine having gone through her transition so publicly.
“Just thinking about the whole paparazzi life that she has — I don’t want that life. You’ll see in the first episode [of ‘I am Cait’] that she sometimes has to change cars multiple times to dodge the paparazzi, which is an insane way to live. There’s no way she could’ve transitioned privately, and I think she is doing it very eloquently, and beautifully, publicly.”
Christina Hendricks, Corden’s other guest, doesn’t understand why transitioning is such a big deal in today’s society.
“To me, it’s something that people do all the time now, and I’m happy when people feel comfortable and beautiful in their own skin. Just, live and let live … I’m happy for her!”
Caitlyn Jenner’s ESPY speech drew public attention last week, as it was her first major TV appearance as a transgender woman since her interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer in April. Caitlyn Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs, saying, “It’s not about me. It’s about all of us accepting one another.”
Cox and Jenner have supported each other in public leading up to their anticipated meeting during the “I am Cait” screening over the weekend.
The meet and greet came after Jenner thanked Cox for her support after Jenner announced her transition from male to female.
“You are fierce and fabulous! Your support means the world,” Jenner wrote on her Facebook. “Thank you for all that you do for the community.”
Before that, Cox wrote a blog expressing her thoughts on Jenner’s post-transition debut, using it as a marker of the progress made by the trans community since her own groundbreaking cover of Time Magazine in 2014.
Watch the video above.