Laverne Cox: I've lost 90 percent of my income since Trump crushed DEI

This story originally appeared on Out.The White House's ongoing efforts to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion from the federal government, educational institutions, and private businesses have directly impacted the income of one of the most famous and iconic transgender women in the world: Laverne Cox. She said so in interviews promoting her just-released memoir, Transcendent. “I’ve lost so much money because of this administration, the past year,” Cox told Attitude. “I managed to stay busy with acting and branding work, as well as speaking engagements. But I never thought college speaking gigs would dry up."In a conversation with the Guardian, Cox explained that over the past two years, she has lost 90 percent of her income: Hosting contracts have not only ended but also not been renewed. As "rainbow capitalism" has evaporated, so have corporate speaking engagements. And Cox explained her surprise that even academia has turned away from booking her for lucrative speaking engagements.“This regime has threatened to defund any colleges and universities that promote gender ideology, DEI,” she said. Even teaching work has fallen through, as “even though I’d be teaching a graduate acting class, it could be perceived as promoting trans ideology”.And as Cox tells it, this isn't merely impacting her own bottom line. 'Material consequences'"These are the realities. I’m not complaining – I’m very blessed. I think the important thing to note is that if Laverne Cox’s income has gone down significantly, what about all the other trans people who are not as privileged and as blessed as I am?" Cox told the Guardian. "There are material consequences for this kind of discrimination and scapegoating.”“I’ve been scared. The past three years, I’ve been terrified," she told Attitude. “And as I lost opportunities, I felt like I should say less because I didn’t want to lose more. And I didn’t want to damage the community either. See on Instagram