Sat. Jul 5th, 2025

Laverne Cox Channels Trauma Into Comedy for ‘Clear Slate’


Studying Time: 3 minutes

Laverne Cox has come out with a vital collection at a vital time.

Clear Slate, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on February 6, stars the Orange Is The New Black alum alongside George Wallace.

Laverne reached deep into her personal childhood ache to inform this humorous, uplifting story.

However she hopes that this can have a therapeutic impact upon viewers. Particularly now, at a time when her story is so painfully related.

Laverne Cox on 'Clean Slate.'Laverne Cox on 'Clean Slate.'
In ‘Clear Slate,’ Laverne Cox stars as a girl reconnecting — and reintroducing herself to — her father in her hometown. It’s a very private story for the actress. (Picture Credit score: Amazon Prime Video)

Laverne Cox and George Wallace star in ‘Clear Slate’ on Prime

Clear Slate is a brand new collection of Prime Video. The present stars Laverne Cox as Desiree, the estranged grownup daughter of Harry Slate, portrayed by George Wallace.

Desiree returns to her small Alabama hometown the place Harry lives and owns a automotive wash. Funding for her artwork gallery in New York has fallen by means of, and her go to residence turns into an prolonged keep.

The catch is that she isn’t simply taking part in catch-up on life occasions. She is a transgender lady, and till the second of their reconnection, her father has solely recognized her as his “son.”

Chatting with Individuals alongside the premiere, Laverne expressed how utilizing very actual tales of what it means to be trans in our deeply transphobic society additionally means having the ability to “discover therapeutic” and humor on the present.

Laverne defined how she took her personal “contentious, conflicted relationship with residence” and the “trauma of my childhood.” She then made them “fairly hilarious for the present.”

Historically, real-life trauma is a significant supply of inspiration for comedy. That’s as true for Clear Slate as it’s for the majority of stand-up comedy. Finally, Laverne hopes that that is “therapeutic for the viewers.”

A screenshot from 'Clean Slate' showing Laverne Cox seated in a church.A screenshot from 'Clean Slate' showing Laverne Cox seated in a church.
A part of the story of ‘Clear Slate’ includes Laverne Cox’s character connecting along with her hometown’s neighborhood after many years of absence. (Picture Credit score: Amazon Prime Video)

Laverne Cox is aware of how very important tales like ‘Clear Slate’ are proper now

Although revisiting some features of her childhood was “triggering, nearly every single day,” Laverne Cox is aware of that it’s for a very good trigger. And never solely in service of the present itself.

CNN reported on her statements elsewhere about what it means to make a collection like Clear Slate at a time when the worst political figures on the planet are utilizing the LGBTQ+ neighborhood — and notably the trans neighborhood — as a scapegoat and a malicious rallying cry.

“When it comes to the trans facet of it, we’re experiencing essentially the most intense backlash towards trans visibility that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Laverne acknowledged.

“, the Republican Social gathering spent $215 million on anti-trans advertisements on this final election,” Laverne Cox cited. “And should you watched, you’d suppose the final election was about trans folks and immigrants.”

“Government orders limiting our rights, 26 states banned gender affirming take care of younger folks, banning us from the navy, from bogs,” she listed grimly. “There’s this complete anti-trans factor, and we’re lower than 1% of the inhabitants.”

Referring to a current response to the bigoted anti-trans backlash, Laverne famous: “Somebody in my remark part stated, ‘They’re fearful concerning the incorrect 1%.’” (The appropriate 1% being billionaires, a few of whom are actively dismantling the US authorities as we communicate)

Laverne Cox outdoors in 'Clean Slate' on Amazon Prime Video.Laverne Cox outdoors in 'Clean Slate' on Amazon Prime Video.
Although a lot of her real-life experiences have been painful, Laverne Cox channeled trauma into comedy for ‘Clear Slate’ … and hopes that the collection has a therapeutic impact upon viewers. (Picture Credit score: Amazon Prime Video)

‘They’re fearful concerning the incorrect 1%’

“In 2025, as federal bans come down attacking trans folks, what I like about this present and what I like about being an artist is that artists will be arbiters of empathy,” Laverne expressed. She identified that empathy “can foster humanity.”

She acknowledged: “Trans folks have been so deeply dehumanized over the previous a number of years.”

Laverne then affirmed: “Artwork, attending to know trans folks as folks, is a solution to re-humanize.”

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