Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox suffers 'horrific' transphobic attack in park

Orange Is The New Black star and LGBTQ+ advocate Laverne Cox took to social media on Sunday to detail the transphobic attack she and her friend fell victim to, which left her "in shock".

In an IGTV video, the star went on to explain that she went on a socially distanced walk in Los Angeles with a friend at Griffith Park, soon encountering a man who aggressively asked them what the time was.

"The friend that I'm with looks at his watch and tells him the time, and then the guy who asked for the time says to my friend: 'Guy or girl?'" Cox said.

"My friend says, 'F**k off.'"

As Cox explains, the man went on to attack her friend, hitting him on several occasions.

"I look back and I'm like 'What is happening?' The guy is like hitting my friend, and then my friend is going toward him and I'm like 'Holy s***!'" Cox said. "I pull out my phone and I call to dial 911, and all of a sudden it's over and the guy is gone."

Once Cox and her friend had enough time to process the incident, they went on to think that the man wanted Cox to answer the question about the time.

"The guy really wanted me to answer so that he could spook whether I'm trans or not," Cox said. "I don't know why, I don't know why it matters. At the end of the day, it's like who cares? I'm in a hoodie and yoga pants, I'm completely covered up, I've got my mask on — who cares if I'm trans? How does this affect your life?"

The actress was so shaken up by the incident, saying it reminded her of how unsafe the world really is.

In 2020 alone, 28 transgender people have been killed, which surpasses the total of last year, as the National Centre for Transgender Equality reports.

"It's not safe in the world. And I don't like to think about that a lot, but it's the truth," Cox said. "It's the truth and it's not safe if you're a trans person. Obviously, I know this well. It's just really sad."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by laverne cox (@lavernecox)

Cox continued: "It doesn't matter who you are. You can be Laverne Cox, you know, or whatever that means. If you're trans ... you're going to experience stuff like this."

Ending the video, Cox encouraged people to not blame themselves if something similar ever happens to them.

"When these things happen, it's not your fault. It's not your fault that people are not cool with you existing in the world ... We have a right to walk in the park."

The star was inundated with support from her fans after uploading the video.

Director Lee Daniels wrote, "Stay strong beautiful sister."

Kerry Washington commented, "Woman!!!!!!!! Ugh. I am so sorry. Love you."

Jamie Chung also wrote: "I'm sorry you and your friend were attacked. This is infuriating. I hope he was reported and you gave them his description."