Actress and transgender activist Laverne Cox has just released a brand-new book, “Transcendent: A Memoir.” While promoting it, she recently opened up about how her life has changed since Donald Trump took office for his second term, revealing that due to some of his administration’s policies targeting trans visibility, she’s lost money.

Laverne Cox Says Speaking Engagements Have Dried Up

Cox was interviewed by Attitude Uncut in June 2026 about her career, her new book, and how she feels her professional life has changed since the Trump Administration returned to power in 2025. Notably, this comes more than ten years since she appeared on the cover of Time, where she called that moment in popular culture “The Transgender Tipping Point.”

According to the “Orange is the New Black” alum, “I’ve lost so much money because of this administration, the past year.” She added, “I managed to stay busy with acting and branding work, as well as speaking engagements.”

However, regarding the loss of income, Cox explained, “But I never thought college speaking gigs would dry up.”

She then shared the extent of her financial situation, revealing, “This administration is very punitive with anything that suggests DEI or gender ideology, and corporations have been very scared. The past year or two, I’ve had to dip into savings and my retirement fund. So, the blessing is that I finally have the privilege to have a retirement fund to dip into, but you don’t really want to do that

Laverne Also Reflected On That ‘TIME’ Statement

Since Cox’s 2014 TIME cover story, she’s faced some backlash over the “transgender tipping point” statement. She addressed the criticism in her Attitude interview, remarking, “I love that how we as a community have been very critical of that [TIME magazine] framing.”

She continued, “Was that indeed the tipping point? It was definitely an unprecedented moment of visibility for trans people, particularly in the United States, I would say.”

After that, she discussed her career, noting, “When I booked ‘Orange,’ I was 40 years old. I didn’t have any savings. I didn’t have any retirement. I was in student loan debt. I was working really hard to get out of a financial hole. But then I was also working hard to try to lift up my community.”

Social Media Doesn’t Have Sympathy For Laverne Following Recent Antics

For the majority of her career, Cox has been a well-respected transgender activist and actress. However, more recently, in 2024, she opened up about dating a much younger police officer whose beliefs ran counter to what she’s always claimed to stand for. She then shared more details in July 2025, which led to further backlash.

Now, following Cox’s vulnerable statement about her loss of income, many social media users don’t have sympathy for her. One X user said, “I would’ve thought she lost opportunities due to her doubling down on dating a much younger MAGA cop during the George Floyd protests, but what do I know?”

Someone else said, “Wasn’t she just bragging about dating a Trump supporter?” Lastly, a different person stated, “That ship has sailed. Why would a university book her at this point after what she said last year? She damaged her brand, and it’s going to take time.”

Laverne Recently Explained The MAGA Cop Situation

Cox recently appeared on ABC’s “The View” to promote her new book. While on, the 54-year-old was asked about her relationship with the man she’d referred to as “blue-eyed MAGA Republican voter who is a New York City police officer.”

Regarding their breakup, she stated, “People show you who they are eventually.” She went on to say that she wasn’t aware of his political leanings when they began dating.

According to her, “We didn’t plan to fall in love, but we did. Later, his political affiliation became obvious, but I’d already had feelings for him and wanted to see him as a human being, beyond that.”

She added of her decision to split from the unnamed man, “I love him, but I love myself more, and staying in this relationship, I betrayed myself — not just my political values, because, in theory, I’d like to believe we can have relationships across political differences. But there was a value difference.”

Cox then said, “Fascism is not consistent with my values. I am an anti-fascist. I never adopted any of my ex’s politics.”

The ‘New Black’ Alum Has Several Projects In The Works

Cox’s speaking engagements may have dwindled, but she has several projects up her sleeve. First, her new book, “Transcendent: A Memoir,” was released on June 9. Gallery Books published the 256-page body of work.

Per IMDb, she also has a number of roles on the horizon, including indie comedy “Soapbox,” from director Andrew Jay Cohen. Her other film, “Black in Blue,” is reportedly in pre-production. Cox also appeared in the 2026 movie “Outcome,” which was released in April.