VIDEO: Caitlyn Jenner’s Tearful Speech At The ESPY Awards
[hdplay id=274]
LOS ANGELES, July 16 (UPI) — Caitlyn Jenner, her children Brody, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and her step-daughters Kim and Khloe Kardashian attended Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner, who recently revealed she is a transgender woman who prefers to be called Caitlyn, graciously accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award while wearing a floor-length, white, wrap dress. The prize was presented to her by World Cup champion Abby Wambach.
“It is so wonderful to be here tonight. The last few months have been a whirlwind of so many different experiences and emotions, but to tell you the truth, it seems like every time I turn around in life, I’m putting myself in these high-pressure situations: competing in the games, raising a family. But I have never felt more pressure in my life than over the last couple months. Picking out this outfit! OK, girls, I get it,” Jenner quipped.
Assuming a more serious tone, she continued: “The real truth is that before just a few months ago, I had never met anybody else who was trans, who was like me. I had never met a trans person. Never. Now as you saw, I delt with my situation on my own, in private, and that turned this journey into an already incredible education. It’s been eye-opening, inspiring, but also frightening. All across this country, right now, all across the world, at this moment, there are young people coming to terms with being transgender. They’re learning that they are different and they are trying to figure out how to handle that on top of every other problem that a teenager has. They’re getting bullied. They’re getting beaten up. They’re getting murdered. And they’re committing suicide.”
Jenner, who is set to star in the new docu-series I Am Cait, said she hopes telling her story might help other transgender people find acceptance.
“With attention, comes responsibility. As a group, as athletes, how you conduct your lives, what you say, what you do, is absorbed and observed by millions of people, especially young people,” she added. “Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect. And from that respect, comes a more compassionate community, a more empathetic society, and a better world for all of us.”
ABC US News | World News
