Laverne Cox shares truth about 'show business' as Hollywood 'dream' gets cancelled
Orange Is the New black star Laverne Cox spoke exclusively to The Mirror US about the 'devastating' decision that was made regarding one of her most recent roles
Laverne Cox has broken her silence on the “devastating” cancellation of Clean Slate.
Earlier this year, the 53-year-old actress released the Amazon Prime Video series which follows an Alabama car wash owner named Harry, who is portrayed by George Wallace, as he navigates through his journey of reuniting with his estranged child, proud trans woman Desiree, after 17 years.
Although the comedy show received an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score and fans raved over its “impossible to resist” storyline, the streaming platform made the decision to cancel it after just one season. While the audience may feel disappointed, it could be argued that no one is more let down than Laverne, who shared her thoughts on critics’ “unrealistic” response.
While speaking to The Mirror US at the WWD Honors on October 28, the actress admitted, “It was devastating.
“I’ve always dreamed of co-creating, executive producing and starring in my own scripted project and Clean Slate was the realization of that dream,” she added.
Amazon Prime never provided an explanation for the cancelation but the actress is sure the ratings weren’t the reason.
She pointed out, “I’m aware there are other shows on the platform that didn’t have the ratings that we had that were renewed but that’s show business.
If it was for critics’ remarks, the actress still doesn’t believe that’s reason enough either.
“Although some critics thought it was unrealistic, it’s actually not. I know lots of Black people in the South who are Christians who love their trans children. There are more of those than not,” Laverne said.
Regardless of the unknown reasoning, Laverne is still “incredibly proud of Clean Slate” and has found a silver lining.
“I’ve had to remind myself this year that this isn’t happening to me. It's happening for me,” she mentioned. “So everything is an opportunity to learn, to grow and to move into whatever the universe and God has for me.
“What is for me will not miss me,” she added.
While the show might be cancelled, the actress still hopes viewers take something out of what did make it to screen.
“My hope is that people continue to find Clean Slate and laugh and see the beautiful humanity in these characters that we created. It’s a beautiful thing,” the actress concluded.
Since the cancellation, Laverne has moved onto other projects.
Just last week, she starred in the one-night only concert performance of The Drowsy Chaperon at Carnegie Hall. She was a part of the all-transgender, non-binary cast that included other notable names like Dylan Mulvaney, Alex Newell, Peppermint, Jonathan Van Ness, and Betty Who.
Clean Slate is still available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.