Olympic legend and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner attacked the national conversation about transgender issues on Monday with a Vanity Fair photoshoot. The day has since proved itself the perfect storm for revealing gaffes—from naive blunders to aggressive prejudice.
To that end, celebrities like Nickelodeon star Drake Bell and hip-hop producer Timbaland made splashes late Monday with controversial, hate-stirring social media updates. Both played on the same notes of forced logic: Jenner was born a man, and so she should be addressed as one.
Drake Bell/Twitter
As someone pointed out to Timbaland in the comments, there’s irony in Timbaland refusing to acknowledge Jenner’s name change given that he was born “Timothy Zachery Mosley” and not “Timbaland.”
For Bell’s part, he tried to backtrack his statement with a follow-up tweet: “I’m not dissing him! I just don’t want to forget his legacy! He is the greatest athlete of all time! Chill out!” Both have since been deleted.
Elsewhere, public reaction from celebrities with vast numbers of followers has been overwhelmingly positive.
Freedom! Stunning. #Caitlyn https://t.co/IHHEfTR0Mw
— Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash) June 1, 2015
Proud of @Caitlyn_Jenner. Her momentous decision helps us discuss, recognize, and empathize with transgender people. pic.twitter.com/s6tpaHZMGu
— Congressman Mike Honda (@RepMikeHonda) June 1, 2015
It takes courage to share your story. https://t.co/Q7wWjV9Rxx
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2015
Photo via manarianz5/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0) | Remix by Fernando Alfonso III
