Clint Eastwood certainly isn’t new to bizarre behavior. It hasn’t been long since he talked to a chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention. If you feel brave and don’t mind feeling awkward and sorry for him, take a look. This year’s Guys’ Choice Awards was another Eastwood strike. Having been much more vocal about his conservative political beliefs in recent years, Eastwood hasn’t hidden how he feels about socially-sensitive topics. This time, his “joke” about Caitlyn Jenner drew “audible groans” from the audience.
Eastwood, who was presenting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with a special award, said during the presentation that Johnson was like other athletes-turned-actors such as “Jim Brown and Caitlyn Somebody”- suggesting that Jenner is a nobody because of being trans. Spike has confirmed that the awards show, which is set to air June 18th, will not feature the inappropriate joke by Eastwood. The testosterone-overdosed TV network’s decision to cut the joke confirms how unpopular it was with live audience members. It would likely draw even greater ire from TV audience crowds.
Last week, Caitlyn Jenner revealed her new look on the cover of Vanity Fair. Caitlyn, who is formerly known as Bruce Jenner, and a US Olympic gold medal winner, has drawn HUGE support from the public. Despite widespread support, Caitlyn’s public transition has drawn transphobic Americans out of the anti-LGBT woodwork. Regardless, E! has announced they plan to run an 8-episode docu-drama about Jenner called “I am Cait” at the end of July.
Jenner has drawn the greatest criticism from ESPN’s decision to award her the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY’s on July 15. Despite the fact that the award was given to Michael Sam, a gay college athlete, last year, and Robin Roberts, a lesbian daytime anchor, in 2013, conservative claims that the award should have gone to a military veteran athlete have sparked widespread social media outrage.
