In the days leading up to Bruce Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer, many expected to see something honest, inspirational, and difficult, and that's certainly what happened. When Bruce Jenner said, "for all intents and purposes, I am a woman," he made the brave choice of sharing a lifelong, deeply personal struggle with the entire world. But before making that defining statement, Jenner also said, "We have to keep our sense of humor about this," and later in the interview, while talking about Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Jenner not only delivered on that front, but also took it to a powerful place. Basically, Jenner's interview with Sawyer opened up into an educational effort to inform viewers about gender identity, the reality of being transgender, particularly in terms of what that's like for children, all while showcasing the charming personality that made us love him so much in the first place.
It wasn't until about 45 minutes into the episode that Jenner and Sawyer began discussing the reality series that thrust Jenner and his family into the spotlight, and Sawyer essentially pointed out the sort of irony of that and asked Jenner if he regretted it. Here was Jenner, struggling with this personal battle while living his life completely in the spotlight. Jenner's response? "I had the story." It was an epic moment, as he said it in a lighthearted way that would undoubtedly make fans of KUWTK chuckle. Basically, while we've been distracted by Kim Kardashian and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner children's zany antics, Jenner was the family member we should have been paying attention to. If Jenner had been holding a mic during this interview, that's the moment when he would have dropped it. Watch it below.
Then Jenner continued, and turned the moment into something touching and inspirational. "We'd done 425 episodes, I think, over almost eight years now," he said. "And the entire run, I kept thinking to myself, 'Oh my god, this whole thing, the one real true story and the family was the one I was hiding and nobody knew about it.' The one thing that could really make a difference in people's lives was right here in my soul, and I could not tell that story." But now Jenner has told that story, is undoubtedly making a difference in the lives of the many people out there struggling with either figuring out or hiding their own identities, and staying true to himself — including that sense of humor.
Editor's Note: Per Jenner’s stated preference, Bustle will continue referring to Jenner using he/his pronouns for the time being. We will follow his lead and make any changes to this policy as needed in the future.
