Caitlyn Jenner sends support to transgender survivor star
Caitlyn Jenner has sent a message of support to transgender ‘Survivor’ star Zeke Smith.
Zeke, 29, was outed by fellow contestant Jeff Varner in a shocking episode of ‘Survivor: Game Changers’ this week and Caitlyn – who was known as Bruce Jenner before her gender transition – took to Twitter to publicly support Zeke.
She wrote: ".@zekerchief Being trans in the public eye is no joke, but you did good buddy. You made us proud (sic)."
Caitlyn’s tweet came after the controversial episode aired, in which Jeff outed his fellow contestant during a tense tribal council.
He said: "There is deception here. Deception on levels, Jeff, that these guys don’t even understand. Why haven’t you told anyone here you’re transgender?"
Zeke later penned an emotional guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, in which he opened up about being transgender and the controversial episode.
He said: "I lost many from my life when I transitioned. Most were supportive in theory, but distanced themselves, unsure and a little weirded out by the process. On the whole, the world doesn’t treat trans people with much kindness. Even those who aren’t outwardly hateful crinkle their noses at you. When enough people crinkle their noses at you, you begin to think you stink.
"I remember walking into Tribal Council that night. I remember the smell of the kerosene in our torches. I remember the smug smirk on his face and the gleam in his eye when he turned to me and snarled, "Why haven’t you told anyone that you’re transgender?"
"The lights magnified in brightness. The cameras, though 30 feet away, suddenly felt inches from my face. All sound faded. Something primal deep inside me screamed: run. I lost control of my body, my legs bounced up and down uncontrollably, willing me to flee, but the rest of me sat dead as stone. To my left was The Abyss. I could’ve made a clean break for it, but I knew there was no running from what had happened. Cameras would follow me, if not that night, then eventually. Running was not an option. So I sat blank, almost in a trance, unaware of what happened around me, trying to form a plan."
