"Orange is the New Black" received a lot of praise for telling stories about a wide range of people, not just of varying ethnicities, but also a spectrum of sexualities. One such character was Big Boo, a lesbian played by out actor Lea DeLaria. The character was mostly written out after Season 5, though she appeared in one episode each of the last two seasons. DeLaria felt that the show contributed to changing social acceptance of queer people, and she was grateful to be able to play her part. "Now people see [butch lesbians] as human beings," she told Indiewire. She added, "My whole career has been dedicated to that. So being able to do that in 'Orange [Is the New Black]' was like I had died and gone to lezzie heaven. It was fantastic."

After leaving "OITNB," DeLaria popped in on "The Blacklist," "Physical," and "East New York." In 2023, she had a recurring role on "Awkwafina is Nora from Queens" as Alfur the Elf.

In 2022, DeLaria returned to Broadway in "POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive," a show about women trying to help a president through a PR kerfuffle. She seems to have had a blast with her fellow castmates, who included Rachel Dratch, Vanessa Williams, and Julianne Hough. "Everyone is so funny," she told Go Mag. "We spend so much time laughing backstage at everything."