Laverne Cox and Jhene Aiko have nabbed new magazine covers. And they're talking politics, love for animals, and more. Check them out inside….
R&B songbird Jhene Aiko graces the cover of STATUS magazine’s October 2016 issue.
The soulful songstress and animal lover bares it all as she lends her voice to speak out about animal rights, body positivity and living a healthier life. She tells the mag, "I feel like we have more power than animals, so it's up to us to protect them."
You can cop the new issue of STATUS magazine here.
“Orange is the New Black” star Laverne Cox is breaking down barriers for the LGBTQ community becoming one of Hollywood’s “IT” girls.
The EMMY nominated star shines in the Netflix original series, she’s gearing up to star on FOX’s “Rocky Picture Horror Story (Oct. 20th), and it was recently announced she will be joining CBS’s new legal drama “Doubt.” Chick is BOOKED.
On the cover of another magazine....
In between hitting production sets for her new projects, the transgender actress is also heating the magazine circuit. She covers LADYGUNN magazine's newest issue where she talks about advocating for the LGBTQ community, highlighting healthcare and gender politics, how important this upcoming election is and more.
Below are a few highlights:
ON BEING A TRAILBLAZER:
“I’ve blazed my own trail in a way, but there have been other people who have come before me who helped out a lot in terms of me figuring out how to be an artist, but also how to be politically engaged and how to balance that. That’s still a struggle for me. There are a lot of issues that are important to me that I want to talk about. The LGBT Data Inclusion Act, for example, is something I have been talking a lot about, which would require federal governmental agencies to ask gender identity and sexual orientation questions so we can start to begin to gather better data about LGBT Americans. The Equality Act is something that would ban discrimination in employment and public accommodations on a federal level–we don’t actually have those federal protections for LGBT people in the United States. Violence against trans women is something I speak out a lot about. A young girl, who was in the Laverne Cox Presents the T Word, Daniella Carter, recently posted on her social media that she was attacked by three men in Las Vegas. This is a young girl who has already talked publicly about experiencing a lot of violence, the foster care system, and being homeless and she’s still dealing with violence as a trans woman of color. Our lives are so often in danger simply for being who we are as transgender folks. That’s something I want to talk about–and it’s important for me to talk about.”
ON THE ELECTION:
“I’ve traditionally not supported political candidates because I’m more issue-oriented than candidate-oriented. But I think the stakes are just way too high for this election. There are so many–especially in the LGBT community–amazing strides that we’ve made under the Obama administration and partly under the Hillary Clinton State Department. That needs to be protected. I think it’s just really, really crucial. So many rights we have yet to achieve for transgender Americans–I believe Hillary is the person to make that happen because of her track record…We have to vote.“
ON HER ADVOCACIES:
“I feel blessed that I have been able to bring all of me to the work that I do in the media. I think for a while I thought that if I wanted to be mainstream I needed to dumb myself down. It’s really exciting that I don’t have to do that. I don’t think anyone should ever do that, actually. I’ve learned that I can show up and be me. I love pop culture, I’m obsessed with Beyonce.” Laverne confesses, “But I also am an intersectional feminist who is politically engaged. Being able to bring those things as well has been really empowering for me. I think that’s where my power lies right now.”
You can read her full interview here.
Photos: Janell Shirtcliff via LADYGUNN/STATUS magazine
