Transgender protesters confront Caitlyn Jenner at charity event
They called Jenner "a clueless rich white woman"
Caitlyn Jenner faced a mob of angry protesters as she left a charity event in Chicago. Rather than bible-thumping conservatives, however, the mob awaiting Jenner was comprised of transgender women: specifically, trans women who are unhappy with Jenner being a spokesperson for their community.
Jenner was invited by LGBTI charity Chicago House to give a speech at a luncheon, where she stated: “Maybe this is the reason that God put me on this earth, to tell my story, to help other people because this is bigger than anything.”
But Jenner’s positive words fell on deaf ears outside the Hilton Chicago, where protesters waving “I Ain’t Cait” signs berated the former Olympian as she left the event.
“You are an insult to trans people, you are an insult to women,” Monica James, one of the protesters, shouted through a loudspeaker. ‘The $500 you spend at a luncheon is more than most black trans women are able to earn in a month.”
A Facebook page — “#IAintCait: Protest Caitlyn Jenner’s ‘Miss Representation’ Luncheon” — organizing the protest calls Jenner “a clueless rich white woman who thinks disenfranchised trans women of color should just pluck themselves up off the street and stop being so lazy.” It’s a reference to comments Jenner made on her E! reality series I Am Cait. Jenner, in a roundtable with other trans women, displayed her Republican roots when discussing many transgender people relying on social security — more often than not because they have been discriminated against by employers.
“Don’t a lot of times they can make more not working with social programs than they actually can with an entry-level job?” Jenner said. “You don’t want people to get totally dependent on it. When they get in trouble, ‘Why should I work? I’ve got a few bucks. I’ve got my room paid for.'”
Seemingly oblivious to the reasons for their protest, Jenner approached the women and attempted to talk with them — to no avail. The Chicago Tribune reports Jenner saying, “I would love to see you have a job. I love you,” before being ushered into a waiting car.
“Make the services and make this movement and this plea for trans tolerance intentional and direct for the people who are facing the violence every day on the streets, the people who are being discriminated against on the basis of their gender and their race at the same time,” James told the Tribune. “She can’t speak to those struggles. It defaces the real truth behind transitioning.”
Watch a video of the confrontation below:
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