Caitlyn Jenner is ready for her close-up with the launch of her reality show on Sunday but Americans may not be as eager to welcome the former Olympic champion as a transgender woman onto their televisions, cereal boxes and billboards.
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“I feel bad that these [people] – especially young people – are going through such a hard time in their life”, Caitlyn says. “We don’t want people murdered over this stuff” she adds, in a almost command-like manner. It’s something Jenner makes her mission on I Am Cait, and on the premiere episode, viewers will see her speak with Katherine Prescott, the mother of San Diego transgender teen Kyler Prescott, who committed suicide in May at age 14. “I’ve dated so many straight men who would never claim me publicly, and I was witnessing them be torn because they thought everybody’s idea of them as men would change and that would be just so devastating for them”. “I just hope I get it right”, she says”. “I hope I get it right”.
As for Caitlyn herself, she takes some getting used to. “It remains to be seen what people think about all this in Ohio or Oklahoma”, said New York branding consultant Hayes Roth.
After the transformation, where Caitlyn, formerly Bruce, Jenner decided she had always been a woman and decided to get surgery to make her physically match her identity, there have been many reactions.
“God I look in the monitor and I look like crap”, Jenner tells the camera. “You know, the one thing I’m really shocked about is how skinny you are”. “What I think is so handsome about this, my visibility and Caitlyn’s visibility, is diverse representations of trans people in the media is so important”.
And in the June issue of Vanity Fair, Caitlyn explained: “Since the Diane Sawyer piece, every day…it’s exciting to go to the mailbox…” For each daughter that appears on the show, “I Am Cait”, momager Kris will receive a 20 percent commission.
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Jessica spoke out a month after she filed a personal injury lawsuit against Caitlyn, in which she claimed the “I Am Cait” star caused the collision by driving “negligently, carelessly, recklessly and wantonly”. So not only is Jenner adjusting to her new body and image but also owning up to her “power of the spotlight” that comes with responsibility to raise awareness about a community that’s often shunned by larger society.
