I was pretty bummed out last week when Laverne Cox was kicked off of I Want to Work for Diddy, the reality show where the media mogul is searching for a new assistant.
But the good news is I could finally get the fierce diva on the phone for a little chat about that horrific perfume challenge.
“I didn’t sell anything, and I’ve had months to think about it. I have so many thoughts,” Laverne shares. “I didn’t find a strategy to sell and I should have tried harder to connect with people.”
Laverne admits it was painful to go through, and even more cringing to watch. But a bad experience can be an incredible lesson.
“I definitely learned a lot,” Laverne says. “I needed to be a lot more stern with what I was wearing and been more personable with the customers.”
As for being up against resident barracuda Kim, a.k.a Poprah, in the elimination round, Laverne says, “She seemed a lot more extreme there than she does on TV to me. I think they somehow softened her.”?
Is that even possible?
One thing Laverne wouldn’t change is how she, being a transgendered woman, was portrayed on camera.
“You always see transgendered women playing prostitutes on TV. It can be exploitative. That didn’t happen on this show.
“People have written to me and said they didn’t know what a transgendered person is like, and they’ve gotten to know me, the real person, through the show.”
Laverne, who is currently producing the documentary, Being T, is pleased to see so many positive transgendered role models, like Dirty Sexy Money’s Candis Kane and America’s Next Top Model’s Isis, on TV.
She hopes one day that transgendered actresses can play roles that doesn’t call out their change in gender.
“The revolution will really start happening when we get roles not necessarily written for us,” she declares. “We’re perfect for the role because of our ability in it. Hopefully, that’s starting to happen in Hollywood.”
Soldier on, girl!
I Want to Work For Diddy airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on VH1.
