TCAs This article is more than 8 years oldCaitlyn Jenner brushes off Ricky Gervais's Golden Globes joke
This article is more than 8 years oldThe TV personality says that she should host the awards show next year while also addressing that she is ‘not a spokesperson’ for the transgender community
Caitlyn Jenner has slyly responded to Ricky Gervais’s opening monologue at the Golden Globes on Sunday, during which the comedian poked fun at the former Olympic athlete turned transgender icon.
Speaking at the Television Critics Association on Thursday, Jenner said: “I’m going to call the Golden Globes and see if they need a host for next year – we’ll solve that problem.”
In his monologue, Gervais said: “I’m going to be nice tonight. I’ve changed – not as much as Bruce Jenner. Obviously. Now Caitlyn Jenner, of course. What a year she’s had! She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes. She didn’t do a lot for women drivers. But you can’t have everything, can ya? Not at the same time.” (A car accident involving Jenner last February left one woman dead; no charges were laid against Jenner.)
Gervais also took aim at Jeffrey Tambor, who plays a trans woman on Transparent. “The president of the Hollywood Foreign Press said if I say anything offensive, or crass, or resort to innuendo, he’s going to personally come out here and ‘pull me off’,” Gervais said. “So that’s an offer I couldn’t refuse. Yes, yes, that is the level – an old man pulling me off. Again. At least Jeffrey Tambor did it in a dress.”
Following criticism that his jokes were transphobic, Gervais responded on Twitter: “Suggesting a joke about Caitlin [sic] Jenner is automatically transphobic is like suggesting a joke about Bill Cosby is automatically racist.”
After addressing the Gervais incident, Jenner continued: “Yes, there’s criticism out there. I’m not a spokesperson for [the trans] community – I am not. The media puts me in that position. I am only a spokesperson for me and my story. I have so much to learn about trans issues and womanhood.”
Asked how she has handled the spotlight since coming out publicly as a transgender woman in April , Jenner stressed that she had never consciously sought out fame, despite her career as an athlete, her ties to the Kardashian family, and her reality show I Am Cait.
“That is just not me,” Jenner said. “The only thing I’ve struggled my whole life with is finding inner peace. I have found that.
“The platform is not for me – it is for this community, to be able to tell our story. If my celebrity helps in doing that and making it better for the next community of trans people coming in, baby I’m all in. I see nothing but love.”
In recent months, Jenner has been criticized for supporting the Republican party, despite its stances on many LBGT issues. The upcoming second season of I Am Cait explores the debate, with Jenner and her trans friends discussing their views at several points.
Asked to comment on her political views, Jenner said: “I don’t want to heavily get into politics – we certainly have enough politics going on in the US right now.”
She conceded “Democrats have been better” on LGBT issues. “But isn’t it good the Republicans have an ally?”
- The second season of I Am Cait premieres 6 March 2016 on E!
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