In her upcoming tell-all, Caitlyn
Jenner blames Ellen DeGeneres for popularizing her unflattering
comments on marriage equality.
In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir
The Secrets of My Life, Jenner suggests that DeGeneres set her
up, saying that DeGeneres wanted to know how her views on the subject
had “progressed over the years.”
“I believe, as anyone would, that
that was exactly what she wanted to talk about – my progress in
terms of changing attitude over the years,” wrote Jenner.
During the interview, DeGeneres pointed
out that many Republicans “would vote against all the issues that
you as a woman and you as a trans person would want someone to
support.”
Jenner, a Republican, said that she
agreed with that “in some cases.”
“And same-sex marriage,” DeGeneres
interrupted.
“I have to admit that I remember 15
years ago, 20 years ago, whatever it was, this whole gay marriage
issue came up, at first I was not for it. I'm a traditionalist,”
Jenner explained. “You know, it's always been a man and a woman.
And I'm thinking, 'I don't quite get it.' But as time has gone on, I
think like a lot of people on this issue have really changed their
thinking here to I don't ever want to stand in front of anybody's
happiness. That's not my job.”
“If that word, marriage, is really,
really that important to you I can go with it, you know.”
“So, you're still kinda a little not
on board with it?”
“No, I'm on board,” Jenner
responded. “Yeah, I'm okay with that.”
(Related: Caitlyn
Jenner tells Ellen DeGeneres she's “OK” with gay marriage.)
During an appearance on The Howard
Stern Show, DeGeneres said that Jenner “still has a judgment
about gay marriage.”
“And I said, 'You're wanting people
to understand and accept you.' This is like really confusing to
people and you still have a judgment about gay people and marriage.
She said if the word marriage is that important and I was like, 'It
is, because that's the word,'” DeGeneres said.
“This discussion further alienated me
from members of the LGBTQ community,” Jenner
wrote. “Ellen's appearance on The Howard Stern Show,
where in my mind she even more emphatically took what I said out of
context, made it go viral.”
Jenner's memoir arrives April 25.