Lesbian Request Denied

"**Lesbian Request Denied**"
"Lesbian Request Denied"
Orange Is the New Black episode
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 3
Directed by	Jodie Foster
Written by	Sian Heder
Featured music	Scott Doherty Brandon Jay Gwendolyn Stanford
Cinematography by	Vanja Cernjul
Editing by	Tim Boettcher
Original release date	July 11, 2013
Running time	56 minutes
Guest appearances
	Uzo Aduba as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren; Danielle Brooks as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson; Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset; Maria Dizzia as Polly Harper; Joel Marsh Garland as Scott O'Neill; Natasha Lyonne as Nicky Nichols; Arden Myrin as Dr. Brooks; Michael Rainey Jr. as Michael Burset; Deborah Rush as Carol Chapman; Morgan Spector as Patrick; Tanya Wright as Crystal Burset; Pablo Schreiber as George "Pornstache" Mendez (special guest star);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Tit Punch"	Next →; "Imaginary Enemies"
	Orange Is the New Black (season 1)
	List of episodes

"Lesbian Request Denied" is the third episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (OITNB), based on Piper Kerman's memoir, Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison (2010), regarding her time at FCI Danbury, a minimum-security federal prison. The episode was released on Netflix on July 11, 2013, along with the rest of the first season.^[1] It was written by Sian Heder, and is one of two OITNB episodes directed by actress and director Jodie Foster.^[2]

The episode focuses on Sophia Burset (portrayed by Laverne Cox), a transgender inmate at the fictional prison Litchfield Penitentiary. In flashbacks, Sophia's family adjusts to her transition, while Sophia is arrested for committing credit card fraud to pay for her sex reassignment surgery. In present day, Sophia fights back against the prison reducing her dosage of exogenous estrogen due to budget cuts. In a subplot, new inmate Piper Chapman, played by Taylor Schilling, deals with the romantic overtures of a mentally unstable inmate, Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren, portrayed by Uzo Aduba.

"Lesbian Request Denied" received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the episode for the performances of Cox and Aduba, and for its respectful and nuanced treatment of a transgender character, especially in comparison to television's treatment of the transgender community in the past. For the episode, Aduba and Cox both received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, the former winning the award, while Foster was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.^[3] Cox was the first transgender actress to be nominated for an acting award at the Emmys.^[4]

^ Goldberg, Lesley (April 30, 2013). "Netflix Sets Premiere Date for Jenji Kohan's 'Orange Is the New Black'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
^ Whitney, Erin (7 February 2014). "'Orange Is The New Black' And Jodie Foster Have Teamed Up Again". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
^ "Orange Is The New Black". Television Academy. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
^ Whipp, Glenn (10 July 2014). "Emmys 2014: Transgender actress Laverne Cox makes Emmy history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

[1] Goldberg, Lesley (April 30, 2013). "Netflix Sets Premiere Date for Jenji Kohan's 'Orange Is the New Black'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

[FosterReteamswithOITNB-2] Whitney, Erin (7 February 2014). "'Orange Is The New Black' And Jodie Foster Have Teamed Up Again". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

[Emmy-3] "Orange Is The New Black". Television Academy. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

[4] Whipp, Glenn (10 July 2014). "Emmys 2014: Transgender actress Laverne Cox makes Emmy history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

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