Kardashian patriarch Bruce Jenner announced in a primetime interview with Diane Sawyer on Friday night that she’s a woman.
Bruce Jenner’s transitional announcement comes after months and months of speculation in the tabloids. His interview with Sawyer is his final time being interviewed as “Bruce,” Jenner says.
“Bruce Jenner is — I would say I’ve always been confused with my gender identity since I was this big,” Jenner told Sawyer. “I’ve tried to explain because I’ve had all my kids sitting in that chair, and I’ve tried to explain it to them this way: ‘God’s looking down, making little Bruce. He’s looking down, he says, ‘What are we going to do with this one?’
“And then at the end when [God’s] just finishing, he goes, ‘We got to give him something… everyone has something they have to deal with. Let’s give him the soul of the female, and let’s see how he deals with that.'”
“I’m me. I’m a person. This is who I am. I’m not stuck in anyone’s body, this is just who I am. My brain is much more female than it is male.”
Bruce took his pony tail out in a moment of symbolism. “For all intents and purposes.. I am a woman.”
“What I am doing is going to do some good,” Jenner said after laughing off the idea that this was a publicity stunt for the Kardashian brand. He said he’s decided to do this now because he could no longer keep the secret.
When asked about his sexuality, Jenner identified as heterosexual and drew a line between sexual desire and gender identity. “Sexuality is who you’re personally attracted to,” Jenner explained to a visibly baffled Sawyer, “but gender identity is who you are and who you identify with inside.”
Jenner began taking female hormones in the ’80s for five years. He also underwent surgery to have his nose reworked and to remove the hair from his face and chest.
Sawyer’s two-hour interview — in which Jenner was meeting the interviewer for the first time — opened with Sawyer’s arrival to Jenner’s home and jumped right into the announcement. “It’s going to be an emotional roller coaster but somehow I’m going to get through it.” Jenner brought a box of tissues to her couch, and after breaking down emotionally, asked Diane that they keep a sense of humor throughout.
“I’ve been thinking about this day forever […] Today’s the day,” he told Diane.
“Today, millions of people learned that someone they know is transgender,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement after Bruce’s announcement. “By sharing this story, Bruce Jenner has shined a light on what it means to be transgender and live authentically in the face of unimaginable public scrutiny. Though Jenner’s journey is one that is deeply personal, it is also one that will impact and inspire countless people around the world.”
Bruce said towards the end of the 2-hour interview with Sawyer that he has not had gender reassignment surgery and has not decided on a new name, if any.
While Bruce’s ex-wife Kris Jenner didn’t comment for the interview, ABC managed to get Bruce’s 89-year-old mother on camera. She offered a very supportive message: “I never thought I’d be more proud of you, but I’m learning I can be.”
Also tonight, E! announced an eight part docu-series chronicling Jenner’s life as a transgender woman. It premieres Sunday, July 26, 2015.
Note: Although Bruce and Diane used the “her” pronoun to refer to the Jenner multiple times, we’ve decided to change the pronouns in this article to he/his to reflect his request during the interview. This article previously used she/her.
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