Laverne Cox has come out to defend herself against criticism of a recent television appearance, during which Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" host Andy Cohen asked her to weigh in on cultural appropriation.
In the wake of teen star Amandla Stenberg's recent comments on Kylie Jenner, Cohen asked Cox and fellow guest Andre Leon Talley on a July 12 broadcast whether "white girls and cornrows" was culturally insensitive or not.
Both Cox and Talley avoided responding, leading many online commenters to interpreting Cox's response as apparent indifference and a failure to come to the defense of Stenberg (who Cohen dubbed the "jackhole of the day").
"In that moment, I... felt that the topic of cultural appropriation needs way more than the 10 seconds or less I had to respond at the end of the show to fully unpack," Cox wrote in a blog post on Tuesday night.
The "Orange Is the New Black" star explained that she was unfamiliar with Stenberg, and did not want to get involved in a "celebrity feud." Cox revealed she has since researched Stenberg and watched her video on cultural appropriation ("Don't Cash Crop My Cornrows"), and was very impressed with her knowledge on the issue.
Cox wrote, "I was most moved by the question she poses at the end of her video, a question I, too, have asked from lecture stages. 'What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?'"
The actress concluded her essay by asking for a continuing dialogue about the issue, while posing a question of her own: “How do we lovingly make people aware of [cultural] history and the potential affects of cultural appropriation that further marginalize and stigmatize those already the most adversely affected by systems that disadvantage certain experiences, bodies and identities over others?”
Since the Sunday night "Watch What Happens Live" show aired, a #BoycottBravo tag has began to trend on Twitter, and Andy Cohen has publicly apologized to Stenberg for his comments.
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