14 DAY TRIAL // Caitlyn Jenner’s highly publicized, limited summer docuseries I Am Cait premiered last Sunday on E!, to solid reviews but rather underwhelming ratings, considering pre-air buzz online. During the first episode, Caitlyn made it clear that she was taking her new role as an LGBT activist seriously.
Raven Symone, the former child actress who is openly gay and is now co-host on The View on ABC, is questioning Caitlyn’s newfound activism. Where was it before she came out as trans-woman? What did she do in this short span of time to learn what being a real activist meant?
Raven Symone goes after Caitlyn Jenner: “too much, too soon”
Caitlyn was born Bruce and she came out as trans-woman in April, on a Diane Sawyer special on 20/20. At the beginning of June, she had already gotten a complete surgical makeover, known as facial feminization surgery, and she was posing as Caitlyn on the cover of Vanity Fair.
Almost 2 months later, she has her own docuseries and she’s being hailed as the new face of the revolution that will change the LGBT community for the better, an honor she has gladly accepted.
According to Raven Symone, there’s something about this quick progression that irks. Footage from the latest episode of The View is available below: the YouTube video is shorter and of poorer quality, but it should serve for those for whom geo-restrictions render the Hulu embed useless.
“I think it’s wonderful, and yes, it needs a light being shined on it,” Symone says. “When I came out [as gay], I didn’t go and go hardcore and be like, ‘I’m going to save the world for LGBT...’ You’ve got to learn it. You’ve got to learn it first, and she’s not, really.”
Raven accuses Caitlyn of not doing anything for the community before she came out as trans, so maybe she should pace herself in her activism until she makes sure she’s learned all there is to learn about.
Divided reactions to the docuseries
As noted above, reviews for I Am Cait have been positive, but only in a context in which they all note the docuseries is obviously a reality show.
If you watched the first episode, you probably noticed that it feels staged, scripted, contrived from minute 1. It is, at the end of the day, just another Kardashian product, one that includes shameless self-promotion and unnatural moments that substitute for real-life experiences.
I Am Cait is a good thing for the LGBT community, but it’s still a Kardashian reality show. Maybe that’s what Symone has in mind when she says Caitlyn should take it easier with the LGBT activism, and proclaim herself an LBGT hero only after she’s actually done something for the community other than mind her own interests.
