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20/20: BRUCE JENNER: THE INTERVIEW: A DIANE SAWYER SPECIAL (TV)

Summary

One in this series of news magazine programs.

This program features an interview with Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner about his decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Diane Sawyer interviews Jenner at his home in Malibu, California, noting the intense media attention surrounding him over the previous year. Jenner is apprehensive about doing the interview but decides to go through with it nonetheless. He recounts his lifelong confusion about his gender identity, feeling as though he had the “soul of a female” and was deceiving everyone around him since childhood. He notes that he is “for all intents and purposes” female but did not want to “disappoint” his family and many fans. His victory in the 1976 Olympic decathlon makes him a national hero, earning him the title of “world’s greatest athlete,” although he recalls being confused and unwilling to face the realities of his life and identity. There are some who believe that Jenner’s gender reassignment is part of an elaborate publicity stunt to promote the reality television show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” on which he makes infrequent appearances. He laughingly denies this, and states that he hopes that he can “make a difference in the world” via his change in gender; he hopes that this decision will be helpful to many transgender Americans suffering from discrimination, homelessness, and ridicule. He hopes to “re-emerge as [him]self” after his surgery.

Sawyer and Jenner travel to his birthplace of Sleepy Hollow in Tarrytown, New York, the first time Jenner has visited in over fifty years. He recounts growing up with his family and an incident when he was eight years old in which he tried on one of his mother’s dresses. At the time he is uncertain of why he did it, only that it “felt good.” At this time there is virtually no information available about what he is experiencing, but Jenner eventually comes to understand that he is actually female. He describes feelings of loneliness and his reluctance to socialize. By the time he is a teenager it becomes increasingly difficult to keep his feelings hidden, although he is sexually attracted to women and not men. In high school he is an all-star athlete and participates in the 1972 Olympic decathlon, although he finishes in tenth place. He throws himself into his training, in part as an attempt to embody a sense masculinity he feels he does not possess. He engages in some cross-dressing at this time, although he becomes romantically involved with his college girlfriend Chrystie Crownover and finds most of his time occupied by his training, which ultimately pays off in 1976 when he wins against the USSR’s Nikolay Avilov and sets a new decathlon world record.

In the wake of his Olympic success, Jenner becomes a media celebrity, engaging in countless interviews, appearances, and endorsement deals. A year after the Olympics, he tells Chrystie about his gender identity issues, although he de-emphasizes their severity. She takes the confession rather well; Jenner believes that she intended to “fix” him. They keep his feelings secret and eventually have children together. However, she divorces him seven years into their marriage and he starts a highly-publicized relationship with actress and songwriter Linda Thompson. Jenner emphasizes that his sexual attraction to women is unaffected by his female identity, which is difficult for some people to understand, including Sawyer to some extent. He makes the distinction between sexuality (which determines attraction) and gender identity, which he describes as a more personal internal quality. Jenner and Thompson have two children of their own and have a happy marriage until Jenner tells her about his issues. They seek out therapy and Thompson comes to realize that she cannot “fix” or alter Jenner from who he is. Thompson divorces him, and Jenner admits that he was “not as fair as I should have been” to his wives.

After this second divorce, Jenner decides to stop denying his problem and slowly begins the process of transitioning in 1984. He is given a regimen of female hormones to begin the process, and initially he gains a great deal more comfort and confidence with himself. He also gets various cosmetic surgeries to alter his appearance to be more feminine. Around this time he contacts his older sister, Pam Jenner, and she is surprised when her brother tells her about his lifelong feelings of femininity. She has an emotional reaction to the news, feeling sorry that Jenner was forced to keep his secret for so long, and does not speak about it for another thirty years. At this time, Jenner becomes curious about the many thousands of other people with similar feelings about their gender identity. His attempts to tell his mother are unsuccessful, as she believes that she somehow caused it to occur. Sawyer interviews Dr. Johanna Olson, director of a treatment program for transgender youth. Dr. Olsson maintains that transgender people are born that way, and that it is not based on any decision on their part, nor is it the result of any mental illness. Her theory is that gender derived from the brain and not from any reproductive organs, and that the brains of young transgender people receive information differently than in others. Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, cautions that children often exhibit cross-gender behaviors at a young age, and that being transgender involves much more persistent feelings of gender dysphoria. He also warns that if gender identity feelings are not recognized in young people, a large portion of them are statistically likely to attempt suicide.

By the end of the 1980’s, Jenner reconsiders his efforts to transition, unwilling to invite unwanted media attention and possibly endanger his children. He also is highly religious and expresses concerns about being considered blasphemous. He ceases his hormone treatment and goes back on tour, giving various motivational speeches. In spite of this, he feels as though he is deceiving his fans and takes up cross-dressing again, going out in public without being recognized. Later he marries Kris Kardashian and begins appearing on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” He tells Kris about his feelings, his hormone treatments, and his cross-dressing, although he again downplays its importance and his issues go largely unaddressed for some time. In the 1990’s she revitalizes his career via a series of seemingly omnipresent infomercials. He describes his time with her and the family they started as “wonderful,” although he continues to struggle with keeping his problems secret. Eventually “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” becomes the centerpiece of a slew of lucrative media enterprises. The rising fame of the eponymous Kardashians shunts Jenner away from media attention. In addition, his marriage to Kris starts to dissolve and he becomes frustrated with the show and his seeming inability to tell his own story.

As he grows older, Jenner comes to fear that he might die while “living someone else’s life.” He makes another effort to transition and Kris divorces him. He moves into his own house and throws small intimate parties for a few friends who do not care how he dresses. At this time he is constantly hounded by the press, many of whom track him and mock his decision to transition. He recalls a particularly upsetting instance in which paparazzi followed him to his doctor’s office as he went for a surgery to reduce the size of his Adam’s apple. He briefly contemplates suicide but decides not to go through with it. Sawyer reports that each of Jenner’s ex-wives have voiced their support for him in recent days. He discusses the difficult process of telling his many children, both biological and by marriage, about his gender identity and transition; he is afraid that he may inadvertently hurt them by telling them. He first tells Brandon, his third child, now a musician. Sawyer interviews Brandon and he recounts how his father told him, in a way he describes as “not perfect.” He finds it “tragic” that his father was unable to live his life the way he wanted to for many years. He is supportive of the transition and says he is doing his best to adjust to the changes in Jenner’s life.

Brandon returns for a second interview, accompanied by Jenner’s three other eldest children: Burton Jenner, Cassandra Jenner, and Brody Jenner. They are all supportive of Jenner’s decision and describe their reactions to the revelation of his gender identity, and how some of them had inklings of something like it occurring during their youth. Brandon notes that he has always been proud to be Jenner’s son, and that he will continue to be proud after the transition for Jenner’s “courage.” Jenner recounts telling the Kardashian children as well; they had some knowledge of his transition for several years but declined to talk to him about it until some paparazzi articles were published about it. At one point he is caught cross-dressing due to one of their computers activating its security mode. A few months later Jenner gathers all the girls together to inform them of his decision to transition. Their reactions are mixed, but all of them are concerned about Jenner and do not wish to see him get hurt. He notes that Khloe Kardashian in particular reacted strongly to the news, recalling how she lost her biological father at a young age and how she felt for a long time that he was the only “strong male figure” in her life. All of them have some degree of trepidation towards perceiving Jenner as a woman, although he receives some unexpected advice from Kim Kardashian, whom he calls “by far the most accepting.”

Sawyer talks about historical instances of public figures coming out as transgender, Christine Jorgenson, who returned from overseas in 1952 after gender reassignment surgery in Denmark and Renée Richards, a notable transgender tennis player in 1977. 2015 is seen as a “tipping point” for transgender awareness and civil rights, surrounded by controversy and increasing media focus. Media portrayals featuring transgender actors or characters have become more visible, including Laverne Cox, one of the stars of the popular television program “Orange is the New Black,” and a transgender woman portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor on the program “Transparent.” However, it is feared that the ridicule surrounding Jenner’s transition will do harm to the transgender community and cast a negative light on their collective issues. Jenner hopes that this is not the case and expresses a desire to work alongside the community to help their cause.

He is concerned about reports of widespread violence against transgender people (African-American transgender women in particular), including serious injury and murder. Media pundits take stances on the issues involved and young transgender people turn to social media as a means of finding support and expressing their feelings. Suicide becomes distressingly common among transgender youth, who claim they cannot find acceptance from their communities or their families. Discrimination against transgender people is not illegal in many states, and there are calls to change this situation, including from the president. Sawyer is surprised to learn that Jenner is a conservative Republican, and wonders aloud how others in his party would react to this. He feels that politicians will be accepting to the community regardless of their party affiliations. He also talks about the interaction between his Christian faith and his own perceptions about his gender issues. Jenner expresses a desire to be accepted and to “blend in.” He has resumed his hormone treatment and intends to undergo surgery to further alter his appearance. He also talks about some of the particulars of his gender reassignment surgery and his desire to keep the majority of the process out of the hands of the media. Psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Levine warns that many people undergoing the surgery are not mentally prepared for the transition and require time to properly adjust, asking for patients to undergo therapy both before and after the fact. Jenner is asked about whether he wishes to pursue another relationship, although he feels that the matter is not under consideration at the moment.

There is a great deal of speculation about what Jenner will look like upon completing his transition. Jenner shows Sawyer some of the clothes he intends to wear once his transition is complete. In New York, Sawyer conducts another interview with Pam and Jenner. Pam notes that it will take time for her to get used to Jenner’s new body and identity. Both of them talk about their mother Esther, who relays a video message to Jenner advising him to “be happy.” Sawyer asks Jenner about what his now-deceased father would have said to him, and Jenner is unsure. He expresses regret that he never told him about his gender identity issues. Sawyer shows Pam and Jenner an old action figure of him, portraying him as he appeared during the 1976 Olympics. Jenner notes that he is “saying goodbye to people’s perception of [him],” asking people to be accepting of him. Includes commercials.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:59:16
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 123302
• GENRE: News Magazine
• SUBJECT HEADING: TV - News Magazine; Women's Collection - News/Talk/Docs
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1978-
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials – Pampers diapers
  • TV - Promos – “The Bachelorette”
  • TV – Commercials – Ace hardware store
  • TV – Commercials – Advil pain relief
  • TV – Commercials – Allegra allergy medicine
  • TV – Commercials – Ball Park hot dogs
  • TV – Commercials – Burlington Coat Factory clothing store
  • TV – Commercials – Caress body wash
  • TV – Commercials – Cricket phone service
  • TV – Commercials – Dannon yogurt
  • TV – Commercials – Depend underwear
  • TV – Commercials – Discover credit cards
  • TV – Commercials – Frontline Plus pet flea treatment
  • TV – Commercials – Goldfish crackers
  • TV – Commercials – Heinz ketchup
  • TV – Commercials – Hyundai automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – KFC restaurants
  • TV – Commercials – Kia automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – Knorr rice
  • TV – Commercials – Latuda antidepressant
  • TV – Commercials – Linzess constipation medicine
  • TV – Commercials – Lyrica diabetic nerve pain treatment
  • TV – Commercials – L’Oreal cosmetics
  • TV – Commercials – Magnum ice cream bars
  • TV – Commercials – Mazda automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – Motrin pain relief
  • TV – Commercials – Nasacort nasal spray
  • TV – Commercials – Neutrogena skin cream
  • TV – Commercials – Nivea body lotion
  • TV – Commercials – Onexton skin cream
  • TV – Commercials – Petco pet supply stores
  • TV – Commercials – Red Lobster restaurants
  • TV – Commercials – Rimmel cosmetics
  • TV – Commercials – Samsung electronics
  • TV – Commercials – Secret deodorant
  • TV – Commercials – Silk dairy substitutes
  • TV – Commercials – Toyota automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – Trivago hotel booking website
  • TV – Commercials – Unstopables air freshener
  • TV – Commercials – Venus shaving razors
  • TV – Commercials – Zillow real estate website
  • TV – Commercials – Zyrtec-D antihistamine
  • TV – Commercials – ZzzQuil sleep aid
  • TV – Commercials – “Aloha” motion picture
  • TV – Commercials – “Avengers: Age of Ultron” motion picture
  • TV – Commercials – “Ex Machina” motion picture
  • TV – Commercials –“Fifty Shades of Grey” home video release
  • TV – Commercials – “Hot Pursuit” motion picture
  • TV – Commercials – “Pitch Perfect 2” motion picture
  • TV – Commercials – “Spy” motion picture
  • TV – Commercials – “The Water Diviner” motion picture
  • TV – Promos – “500 Questions”
  • TV – Promos – “2015 Billboard Music Awards”
  • TV – Promos – “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
  • TV – Promos – “Becoming Us”
  • TV – Promos – “Beyond the Tank”
  • TV – Promos – “Blackish”
  • TV – Promos – “Captive: a Journey of Hope & Survival”
  • TV – Promos – “Cleveland Abduction”
  • TV – Promos – “Dancing With the Stars”
  • TV – Promos – “Good Morning America”
  • TV – Promos – “Grey’s Anatomy”
  • TV – Promos – “Once Upon a Time”
  • TV – Promos – “Revenge”
  • TV – Promos – “Secrets and Lies”
  • TV – Promos – “Shark Tank”
  • TV – Promos – “The Astronaut Wives Club”
  • TV – Promos – “The Whispers”

CREDITS

• Diane Sawyer … Host
• Bruce Jenner (See also: Caitlin Jenner) … Interviewee
• Pam Jenner … Interviewee
• Johanna Olson … Interviewee
• Norman Spack … Interviewee
• Brandon Jenner … Interviewee
• Burton Jenner … Interviewee
• Cassandra Jenner … Interviewee
• Brody Jenner … Interviewee
• Jennifer Finney Boylan … Interviewee
• Stephen Levine … Interviewee
• Esther Jenner … Interviewee
• Nikolay Avilov
• Kristin Beck
• Chaz Bono
• Laverne Cox
• Chrystie Crownover
• Leah Jenner
• Christine Jorgenson
• Khloe Kardashian
• Kim Kardashian
• Kris Kardashian
• Janet Mock
• Renée Richards
• Geena Rocero
• Diego Miguel Sanchez
• Jeffrey Tambor
• Linda Thompson

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