Laverne Cox Stands Up for Trans Rights at Just for Laughs

This weekend's shining moment at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal was at the Laverne Cox Gala. The actress and activist kicked off the event by channeling her best Beyoncé, strutting and dancing to "Crazy in Love" with a split that received a roar of an applause from the audience.

Cox, who has recently been in the news speaking out against President Trump's policy against transgender troops serving in the military, took a serious moment in her opening monologue to thank the people of Montreal and Canada for being accepting of the LGBT community.

"I'm very proud to be an advocate for my community, but let me tell you it hasn't always been easy, and this week particularly, it has not been easy," she said. She then closed the evening by expressing her gratitude for the country for "being a country where everyone, and I mean everyone, can serve in the military; #protecttranstroops."

Cox is the first openly transgender host in JFL's festival history.

Check out a full recap of the day's events, which also featured Howie Mandel, John Mulaney, Craig Ferguson, the cast of HBO's Vice Principals, Trevor Noah, and more below!

The Bodega Boys live with Desus Nice and The Kid Mero

If you don't know the Bronx's Desus Nice & The Kid Mero from Viceland's Desus & Mero you probably know them from their supremely popular comedy podcast, Bodega Boys, where the two friends wax poetic on anything from churros to Black Twitter's reaction to the latest Trump tweet. The Bodega Boys delivered this evening at their sold-out show at Maison Theatre - the room was in stitches!

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous

John Mulaney is an Emmy Award winning writer and comedian who most recently starred in the Broadway hit, "Oh, Hello on Broadway" alongside Nick Kroll. In 2015, he released his 3rd hour standup special, a Netflix Original titled "The Comeback Kid" which the AV Club called "his best hour of his career". His sold-out "John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous" show this evening at the Olympia continued Mulaney's comedic ascent.

Craig Ferguson: The New Deal Tour

You probably recognize Craig Ferguson from The Craig Ferguson Show on Sirius XM and, of course, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS. At his sold out show "Craig Ferguson: The New Deal Tour" this evening at the Monument National, Ferguson proved why he is one of the most loved and respected standups today: he had the whole room on the floor laughing!

The Howie Mandel All-Star Comedy Gala

Howie Mandel thrives in the spotlight, and fromDeal or No Deal to America's Got Talent, he's been an unstoppable force in show business for over 30 years. Howie channeled that magnetic energy into last summer's Festival in the form of Howie Mandel's All-Star Comedy Gala, an exclusive 90-minute special filmed for The CW Network featuring one-of-a-kind performances from some of the best stand-up comedians working today. This evening's sold-out third instalment of this phenomenal gala was presented to a jam-packed PDA Wilfrid-Pelletier - something tells us Mandel's all-star comedy gala might be here to stay at JFL.

The Laverne Cox Gala

Laverne Cox didn't have any problem standing out in the cast Netlfix's Orange is the New Blackand this evening at the sold-out The Laverne Cox Gala at PDA Wilfrid-Pelletier, she proved yet again that she always shines as part of a group of super talented performers, joined by an all-star lineup including Ryan Hamilton, Bryan Callen, Tommy Little, Matt Wright and Laurie Elliott.

OFF-JFL

The Lucas Bros

Since they out-sexied Channing Tatum and made Jonah Hill look like a dramatic amateur in 22 Jump Street, the Lucas Brothers (Kenny and Keith)continued their rise to the top, creating and voicing their animated hit Lucas Bros Moving Company on FXX and starring in their own Netflix special Lucas Bros: On Drugs. The Lucas Bros continued their ascent this evening at their sold-out show at Café Cleopatra!

The Masters Hosted by Todd Barry

The Masters is a show featuring seasoned pros and stand-up legends doing what they do best. Tonight's show hosted by one of America's favourite deadpan comics, Todd Barry, at Léveillée Place des Arts delivered on its promise of great comedy performed by artists at the top of their game!

COMEDYPRO

Hulu presents In Conversation With Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah is the host of the Emmy and Peabody award winning The Daily Show and his 9th comedy special Afraid of the Dark was released on Netflix in February. In Conversation with Trevor Noah is a rare opportunity to get a little closer to one of the most brilliant and thought-provoking comedians in the world. A jam-packed room at the Hyatt Regency Montreal seized this opportunity this afternoon, joining Trevor and moderator Richard Crouse (CTV's CP24 News Channel, The Richard Crouse Show) for a wonderful free-flowing conversation touching on Trevor's life, experiences and the world today.

Funny or Die presents JFL Exclusive Launch: The Pitch App

Like mildly poking your phone in slightly different locations? Now there is a new thing to poke on your phone and we made it just for you! Pitch is a joke writing app created by comedy writers to make selling jokes to publishers easier and more fun. Incubated by Funny Or Die, we made Pitch to help up-and-coming writers develop their craft, and to help established writers dick around and make some extra cash. The Inspiration Room at the Hyatt Regency was packed this afternoon for the JFL Exclusive Launch of The Pitch App presented by Funny or Die, as throngs of people came to see Pitch in action and to get an exclusive look at how it works!

HBO Vice Principals

HBO's Vice Principals tells the story of two school administrators locked in an epic struggle to ascend to their rightful place at North Jackson High School - to be school principal. A packed room listened carefully to the all-star cast panel featuring Danny McBride, Jody Hill, David Gordon Green, Walton Goggins, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Georgia King, Edi Patterson, and moderated by Ron Bennington as they discussed the darkest comedy on television!

Follow JFL on Snapchat @ jflmtl, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to stay in the loop on all the goings-on at the world's biggest comedy festival!

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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