When Claim To Fame's X was revealed to be the brother of actress Laverne Cox, he made a moving speech about his famous sister, and Laverne thanked him for his beautiful words. Claim to Fame contestant Lark correctly guessed X's identity, thus eliminating him from the game. X is Laverne's identical twin brother, Reginald Lamar Cox, known professionally as M Lamar. X had been one of the most intriguing contestants, who was so mysterious that his fellow houseguests joked that he might have been a vampire. He dressed completely in black, with black eye makeup and long black hair. During the Claim to Fame episode 1 talent show, X shared with viewers that he is a composer and a performer. He played the piano and sang in a high-pitched operatic voice. In real life, M Lamar is a composer, performer, and artist. He is an operatic countertenor and pianist.
In the first episode, X told his fellow houseguests that his celebrity relative is best known for being an Emmy-winning actor. In 2015, Laverne won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special as the executive producer for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word. She was the first transgender woman to win the award. In the second Claim to Fame episode, a clue of an orange led X's fellow contestant Dominique to believe that he might be related to Laverne because of Orange Is The New Black. Laverne was Emmy-nominated for her work as Sophia Burset on the show, and X had played Laverne's character pre-transition on two episodes. Claim to Fame episode 3 brought the clue "doppelganger," which referred to X being Laverne's twin.
In an Instagram post, Laverne reacted to the beautiful speech that X made about her before his exit from the show. She shared the clip of X's speech in which he said, "I am the identical twin sibling of the Emmy-winning producer, four-time Emmy-nominated actress, icon, and global superstar, Laverne Cox." His words were met with a round of applause from his fellow contestants. X went on to say that he was very emotional, not because he was leaving the show, but because he has so much respect for his sister. He explained, "I've never really spoken about her. But since she's the reason why I'm here, I want to say in front of the world: I love her so much." X became emotional as he continued his speech, which brought his fellow Claim to Fame contestants to tears as well. He said that Laverne is the most extraordinary person that he has ever met, explaining, "She has endured all kinds of insanity, and continues to. She continues to stand with so much dignity and pride, and go forward and be an inspiration for so many people. Her success is so much bigger than her. The number of Black trans actresses who are on the covers of magazines, who are starring in television shows... all of that did not exist before my sister. And I just want to thank her and praise her."
In Laverne's response to the speech, she wrote that she is "an immensely blessed woman in a plethora of ways." She shared that one of the most important ways that she is blessed is because she has known her brother for her entire life. Laverne said that she did not have words to express what X's words on Claim to Fame meant to her. She explained, "My brother's love, support and counsel are part of the reason I am who I am. And this reaffirms for me that there is a God, a higher power, a blessed energy force bigger than us. Thank you M, my brilliant, talented, charismatic, visionary, revolutionary, Negro Gothic (a term he coined. Get into it yuh!) genius twin sibling! Thank you God!" Laverne concluded her post with several hashtags including, "#TransIsBeautiful #claimtofame #siblings #twins #UnconditionalLove."
The relationship between Laverne and M Lamar is one of mutual respect and love. The bond between them as siblings is truly beautiful. This episode of Claim to Fame gave fans a very inspiring moment that showed the power of family bonds. It was an incredible reminder of that sometimes reality television is, in fact, real, and gives viewers moments that transcend the genre.
Claim to Fame airs Mondays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
Source: Laverne Cox/Instagram