Caitlyn Jenner was the butt of several ‘transphobic jokes’ over past support of Donald Trump
Caitlyn Jenner at the Comedy Roast of Alec Baldwin. (Getty)
Caitlyn Jenner caught flack for her past support of US president Donald Trump at the Comedy Roast of Alec Baldwin, with several comedians also targeting her with anti-trans jokes.
Jenner was one of several big names to send up Baldwin on the Comedy Central special, appearing alongside Robert De Niro, Ireland Baldwin (the actor’s daughter) and Saturday Night Live comic Chris Redd.
When Redd’s turn came around, he gave Baldwin a brief respite as he turned his attention to Jenner.
“You goddamn hypocrite. You’re against gay marriage, you voted for Trump… you’re like the Auntie Tom of the trans community,” he said.
In African-American culture, Uncle Tom is an insult directed towards black people deemed to have sold out their community in search of white approval.
“You did open the door for trans people, but then you ran in and slammed that s**t shut behind your flat ass,” Redd added.
Caitlyn Jenner voted for Donald Trump.
Jenner came out as trans in a high profile television interview with 20/20‘s Diane Sawyer in June 2015.
Three months later, in September, she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
She told DeGeneres that she had previously been against same-sex marriage.
“I’m a traditionalist. I kinda like tradition and it’s always been a man and a woman,” she said, adding that her views were evolving.
Two years later, in a follow-up conversation with Sawyer, she confirmed that she was: “100 per cent behind gay marriage. Let’s clear that up right now.”
Going into the 2016 US election, Jenner was a rare LGBT+ supporter of Trump’s, and continued to defend her decision to vote for him after his election.
But in October 2018 the Olympic champion performed a sharp volte-face, admitting: “Sadly, I was wrong.”
“The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president,” she wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
“My hope in him — in them — was misplaced, and I cannot support anyone who is working against our community.”
Caitlyn Jenner targeted with ‘transphobic jokes’.
Jenner was the butt of several jokes throughout the night, with Robert De Niro also quipping: “Comedy Central wouldn’t put Caitlyn Jenner on a roast until after her transition so they could pay her 20 percent less.”
Some comedians made off-colour jokes about Jenner’s gender identity. One viewer tweeted: “It felt like Caitlyn Jenner was invited solely for the purpose of transphobic jokes.”
Adam Carolla misgendered and deadnamed Jenner, saying: “Here’s how f***ed up Hollywood is. Bruce Jenner announces he’s transitioning and everybody applauds it, but when they find out he’s a republican, they’re outraged. Cut your d*** off? Hero. Cut taxes? Hitler.”
Caroline Rhea, who played Aunt Hilda in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, target both Jenner and Will & Grace star Sean Hayes, who also appeared.
“Let’s face it, no one wants to be here,” she said. “The person who went to the greatest lengths to not show up tonight was Bruce Jenner… I actually respect that you fully transitioned instead of stopping halfway like Sean Hayes.”
Jenner fired back: “I’m a person trying to figure out my life just like everyone else. All I want for future generations of transgender people is that if I can find the courage to be who I am, then you can too.
“If you have a problem with that, then you can suck my d***, if you can find it.”
