Actress Laverne Cox says the Netflix
hit comedy Orange is the New Black has helped transgender
people come out.
Cox discussed the show on the red
carpet of Logo TV's Thursday night Gay Pride special Trailblazers.
Trailblazers
coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's
decision striking down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA).
(Related: Thursday
marks one year anniversary of Supreme Court's DOMA ruling.)
Former President Bill Clinton, who
signed DOMA into law, will honor Edith Windsor, who challenged the
law, and Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer who represented Windsor.
Lance Bass will honor Brooklyn Nets
player Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player.
Also being honored is the cast of
Orange is the New Black, in
which Cox, a transgender woman, plays a transgender character.
“I've
gone to meet people all over this country who've been deeply moved by
the show. Particularly with my character, trans folks that said
they've been able to come out as trans, they decided to transition
because of this show, they've been able to have conversations with
people in their lives about their identity in ways that are affirming
because of this show,” Cox said. “So, it's really incredible to
be the vessel for all of that social change.” (The video is
embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Trailblazers
will be hosted by Daniel Radcliffe and feature a performance from A
Great Big World. Also scheduled to appear on the show are Tegan and
Sara, Ed Sheeran, Jared Leto, Kylie Minogue, Ariana Grande, Rita Ora,
Iggy Azalea, Tyler Glenn and Mary Lambert.