Emmy-winning actress and trailblazing trans activist Laverne Cox just dropped one of the most unexpected confessions of her career and she’s not hiding from the conversation it sparked.
In a candid TikTok teaser promoting her upcoming show at City Winery in New York, Cox revealed she once had a three-year relationship with a white, MAGA-supporting police officer, a romance that began during the 2020 lockdowns.
The internet’s reaction was explosive. Fans flooded the comments with shock, disappointment, empathy, and heated debate. Within hours, it became one of the most polarizing LGBTQ+ celebrity stories of the year.
From Public Backlash to a Public Dialogue
While other stars might have gone quiet, Cox chose the opposite approach, transforming a viral “call-out” into a national conversation about love, politics, and identity.
This weekend, she appeared on the YouTube show Olay & Friends, hosted by lawyer and activist Olayemi Olurin, alongside a powerhouse panel:
- Kat Blaque – Trans YouTuber and social commentator
- Dominique Morgan – Incarceration abolitionist
- Hope Giselle – Activist and educator
- Da’Shaun L. Harrison – Author of Belly of the Beast
- Quei Tann – Actress
The mission was to “call in” instead of “call out,” creating space for accountability and nuance without tearing people down.
The Moment That Went Viral
Complicating matters was the timing. Just before revealing her MAGA ex, Cox had publicly criticized Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign for collaborating with Republican figure Liz Cheney, remarks she made on Ts Madison’s Outlaws podcast.
This set the stage for Quei Tann’s razor-sharp comment during the panel:
“You’re upset that Kamala brought a Republican onto her campaign, but you don’t understand why people are upset that you brought a Republican inside of you?”
The line instantly blew up online.
What Really Happened in the Relationship
Cox laid out the full story. She met her ex on Tinder in 2019 but they didn’t meet in person until summer 2020. At first, she believed he worked in “commercial real estate.”
Only months later, right before the 2020 election, did she learn he was a police officer with MAGA political leanings. By then, she admitted, she was already in deep.
“This is the gag,” Cox said, “he treated me better than I’ve ever been treated before…”
A Conversation About Desire, Politics, and Safety
Dominique Morgan noted that Cox’s age and Southern upbringing add important context. Kat Blaque unpacked the complicated reality of being pursued by conservative men as a Black trans woman:
“When your experience is being fetishized, being othered, being excluded… men who seem more traditional can make it feel like something real.”
The discussion posed a hard but necessary question:
Can you truly love someone whose politics oppose your liberation?
Morgan expanded the issue beyond white men, pointing out that many trans women face danger from men of all backgrounds who secretly desire them but treat them as disposable in public.
Sex, Hypocrisy, and Red-State Reality
Cox also highlighted the hypocrisy she sees in conservative culture, noting that red states consistently lead in online searches for trans pornography. The panel explored how desire, self-worth, safety, and political beliefs intersect and sometimes clash in the dating lives of Black trans women.
Why This Dialogue Matters
What could have been reduced to a messy celebrity scandal became something deeper: a raw, necessary discussion on love, boundaries, and the realities of dating as a Black trans woman in America.
Rather than silencing herself or pandering to critics, Laverne Cox modeled what true accountability looks like owning the complexity, sitting in the discomfort, and opening the floor for an honest exchange.
Watch the full discussion here:
