Trans Teen Gavin Grimm Responds To Laverne Cox Shout Out At The Grammys

A transgender teen whose fight for civil rights is headed to the Supreme Court in March received the shock of a lifetime when Laverne Cox used her stage time at the Grammys on Sunday to draw visibility to his case.

Gavin Grimm is a 17-year-old transgender boy whofought against the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia for rights to use the public school bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity. With his upcoming March 28 SCOTUS case having major, historic implications for the trans community, Cox dedicated her intro to Lady Gaga and Metallicas performance to tell viewers, Please Google Gavin Grimm. Hes going to the Supreme Court in March. #StandWithGavin.

According to The Washington Post, Grimm had no idea Cox planned to make the high-visibility statement at The Grammys that is until he heard his mother shrieking from the next room while watching the awards show.

I was just so thrilled because I love her. Shes just a beautiful person inside and out, Grimm said. I was really touched and thrilled and honored that that was the first thing out of her mouth… at this point, thats the role I occupy and I want to make sure Im using that platform for positive, Grimm said. I definitely didnt set out at the beginning wanting to or expecting to shouted on the Grammys.

Grimms mother previously spoke out in a video for the ACLU about how her son has become a lighting rod for the mainstream transgender rights debate a fight that she says is about equality for everyone.

A win would be awesome, but its come down to way more than bathrooms now, she says in the above video. Its about treating everybody with dignity and respect and its about equality. And its about it in a way that I never understood and that I think people need to understand. We all bleed the same kind of blood. Were all equal, everybody is equal and now more than ever everybody needs to be recognized as equal.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gavin-grimm-laverne-cox_us_58a1d422e4b03df370d88bd3?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009