Instagram/@lavernecox
Laverne Cox, who is both an actress and an activist, has once more conveyed a very strong political message, this time by posting a video that was an absolute defense of New York Attorney General Letitia James and at the same time criticized the political atmosphere that enabled Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo to flourish. With the post, another lawsuit against James is interpreted as reflecting a company of the ‘broken system’ and talking in New York City of the birth of a new political era. A video first put up by Zohran Kwame Mamdani had mixed reactions from the public, ranging from extremely enthusiastic support to very strict criticism and just reflecting the large political divisions that the issue contains.
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Laverne Cox has eventually chosen to give her voice to the mildest side of the growing controversy by sharing the reposted video on her platform. A member of the audience is communicating with the speaker in the video who through a very engaging call-and-response style is doing extremely harsh criticism of the political landscape. The speaker is saying that the problems of Attorney General James are not just an isolated case but are, in fact, a direct consequence of the system that empowers ‘lawless billionaires’ and ‘corrupt politicians.’ This very system, they say, is responsible for the ‘perversion of justice’ and ‘democracy attacks,’ which inevitably leads to the development of such figures as Donald Trump.
The speaker’s words link to New York City in a very explicit way saying that the culture of immunity that helped Trump thrive is also the story that connects the city with the downfall of the former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The speaker’s main argument is a very courageous defense of James: ‘No one is above the law’ and a warning to her adversaries that they will ‘have to get through each one of us.’ In a way, this was affirmed by Cox’s caption when she stated that the ‘new era of politics will be born’ in New York City.
The public response to Cox’s posting was instant and extremely split, representing in a powerful way the very nature of the debated topic that was hotly contested. Supporters of the message among commentators were quite numerous and some did not hesitate to express their strong approval. One user wrote, ‘Would have been much quicker if he just spoke!! 😆 ♥️,’ which was meant to be humorous but at the same time kept the very serious political issue in the background. Another one was like, “Good Luck NY,” but they still referred to the speaker’s mayoral prospects as a ‘terrible mistake.’
On the other hand, however, the bulk of people’s reactions was negative, targeting not so much James’s plight as rather the means of expression and the anonymous speaker himself. To one individual the answer was simply ‘I’m with you but this isn’t a good look…’ Another person using a similarly baleful tone applied the term ‘clown’ to the speaker and even added a clown emoji which was a way to make undeniably clear that the point was really communicated. The adoption of the call-and-response style in the video was among the reasons for the criticism. One person considered it ‘disturbing’ and then made an association to the patterns used by ‘terrorist sympathizers’ while others had a different opinion admitting that it was just a very straightforward and common ‘call and response’ manner of interaction.
Besides that, the discussion kept switching to the legal ramifications of the case against James. One relatively long comment was really a call for the accountability of all corrupt politicians, irrespective of their event affiliations, in which it said, ‘Honestly she did break the law. That’s the bottom line. And if we are going to go after corrupt politicians and demand accountability then we need to demand it from the democrats as well.’ Finally, the user went on to say that backing this speaker for the mayor was ‘naive and dangerous.’ Another user simply stated, ‘SHE BROKE THE LAW AND NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW,’ which sparked a sub-thread of replies rigorously debating about the legal positions of Donald Trump versus Tish James, thus revealing the highly partisan nature of the entire discussion.
Some comments were pretty harsh and one person bluntly told Cox to ‘Shut up Laverne you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Another comment was in Spanish and after translation, it said, ‘sweep away that “Trojan Horse” as soon as possible,’ with the subjects then being called ‘open enemies of the United States.’
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Through posting this content, Laverne Cox has firmly placed herself in the middle of a heated political debate. The wide range and intensity of reactions to her post indicate that many still perceive the legal troubles surrounding figures like Letitia James as symbolic battles over the very nature of the political system. The debate clearly separates those who view the prosecution as a politically motivated attack and those who regard it as a necessary reinforcement of the rule of law. The bottom line is that nowadays, the courtroom and the court of public opinion are one and the same. TS Madison and Laverne Cox have previously collaborated, while Cox often shares thought-provoking content. Her fashion sense is also notable, as seen when she unveiled a vintage Mugler dress, and she even posed a playful question with Cardi B in a recent post.
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