The demonstrators were angered that the 66-year-old former Olympian, who they dubbed ‘a clueless rich white woman,’ was being held up as a representative of their community.
Caitlyn had been
speaking at a luncheon held by an LGBT charity in Chicago and attempted
to engage with the protesters as she left, sparking a confrontation
which was caught on camera.
Shouting slogans such as ‘You are an
insult to trans people, you are an insult to women,’ protesters used
a loud speaker to make their grievance known. In a video of the altercation posted on
Facebook by the protest group, Caitlyn could be seen being angrily
berated, with demonstrators saying ‘you have no right to represent us.’
In the footage Caitlyn tried to reason with them, before being escorted away by her security guards.
Caitlyn had earlier given the keynote address to an audience of 1,000 at the Speaker Series luncheon for the Chicago House.
The protest group, calling itself ‘I Ain’t Cait’, explained in a mission statement that Caitlyn’s wealth made her unrepresentative of the average member of the trans community.
‘Caitlyn Jenner… lives in a mansion and has a net worth of millions of dollars, while the average trans person has a 41% chance of experiencing homelessness and a nearly 50% chance of living off less than $10k per year,’ they wrote on Facebook.
The group attacked Caitlyn for her past comments on those using social services such as Chicago House, quoting from her show.
The group called 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.’
And they added: ‘Caitlyn Jenner doesn’t represent trans people!’ The protester who was seen confronting
Caitlyn in the video, later said in a public Facebook post that Caitlyn
gave her a ‘look of disgust’.
And she wrote: ‘I support her as trans,
but I won’t support her as an act of bravery for transitioning in the
public’s eye, while millions are homeless for identifying, dead, or
dying because they have to do damn near anything just to find a place to
sleep at night.’
Those are the folks that I pray respect and support my
direct advocacy for humanity and dignity for all. Everyone can be
productive if given a chance and left alone to figure it out.’
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