Laverne Cox and Angelica Ross have opened up about the struggles of dating in Hollywood as trans women.
Over the last few years, the two superstars have ruled the entertainment sphere with their groundbreaking projects and historical achievements.
From Cox becoming the first trans woman to be made into a Barbie to Ross becoming the first trans woman to play Roxie Hart in Broadway’s Chicago, their stars show no signs of dimming.
However, despite their landmark success, the two beloved actresses still face stigma within the industry – particularly regarding their dating lives.
On a new episode of E!’s If We’re Being Honest, Cox and Ross opened up about the difficulties of dating famous men due to the problematic assumptions that come with it.
“I think it’s deeply problematic when people hear that a famous man is with a trans woman and they automatically think and say that he’s gay,” Cox explained.
“Because that is disavowing the womanhood of trans women and it is also not acknowledging sexuality exists on a spectrum and that people can be into trans woman and just be completely straight.
Cox went on to say that it was “so exhausting” that people still face irrational pushback for identifying as pansexual, bisexual and having relationships with trans women.
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“I can’t believe we’re still dealing with stigma and that there are so many celebrities, famous men who are terrified of people finding out they’re sleeping with trans women. I honestly can’t believe it, I really can’t,” she added.
Elsewhere in the interview, the two LGBTQ+ icons discussed the violence they faced from men on dating apps.
“I literally had a man threaten to shoot me. He threatened to shoot me like from LA to San Francisco,” Ross revealed.
When Cox asked if it was because he matched with her on a dating app, the Pose alum replied: “Yeah, and because I called him out for being ignorant.”
The Orange Is The New Black star recalled a similar experience when a man questioned her gender while she was out with a friend.
“My friend says, ‘F you’, and he had one of those folding chairs, and he goes after my friend,” Cox said.
“My friend’s instinct was to get in between me and the person so that the guy wouldn’t come after me.”
Cox then revealed that the fight stemmed from the man wanting to “check things out” and to make sure it was “okay” to be attracted to her.
Check out their full interview here or below.
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