Caitlyn Jenner Lashes Out at Disney

Caitlyn Jenner has hit out at Disney, suggesting the entertainment giant is the reason she's not featured in The Kardashians.

In a series of comments posted to X—formerly Twitter—on Saturday, the 74-year-old slammed Disney and its CEO Bob Iger.

Jenner suggested that the family's decision to launch their latest reality show, The Kardashians, with Disney-owned Hulu is responsible for her exclusion from the series.

The former Olympian appeared on the family's first reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians (KUWTK), between 2007 and 2021. The program was broadcast on E! and ran for 20 seasons, but the Kardashian-Jenner clan signed a two-season deal with Hulu in 2022.

Jenner's jab at Disney was in response to a post from X user Richard Grenell, who accused Disney of "being partisan."

"I wonder if that's why they fired me from my family's reality show when it switched over to Hulu (@Disney), from E!" Jenner wrote on Saturday.

"I must not be woke enough. Too bad... I remember when Bob Iger was a young, hard working, valet, carrying my bags, for me right after I won the Olympics."

In another comment, Jenner claimed that her "About Bruce" specials earned KUWTK its highest viewing figures in "three years," insisting that "Disney dropping me was purely political."

"I wasn't woke enough for them, and Bob had no sense of loyalty after I gave them highest rated 2 HOUR 20/20 special on ABC, and massive boost to their ESPY ratings YoY when I spoke," she said.

Newsweek has reached out to Caitlyn Jenner for comment via Instagram and Disney via email.

In recent years, several conservative figures have accused Disney of "going woke," after the studio began diversifying its characters and storylines. ABC is under the Disney umbrella after the media behemoth acquired the network in 1995.

In 2017, Jenner starred in an ABC special that focused on how her life had changed since coming out as transgender. The gold-medal winner announced her transition in 2015, releasing a memoir about her experiences, The Secrets of My Life, two years later.

What Are Caitlyn Jenner's Political Views?

During the interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Jenner said: "I've always been on the more conservative side," identifying as a Republican. Jenner's political views do not align with the majority of LGBTQ voters in the U.S., according to a 2022 poll by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), with the reality star's past support for Donald Trump and remarks about the transgender community causing a stir.

HRC surveyed 1,000 LGBTQ voters and discovered that 80 percent voted Democrat during the 2022 midterm elections. The advocacy group said candidates pushing "extreme" policies—such as a curb on abortion rights, overturning same-sex marriage laws and anti-transgender legislation—motivated many LGBTQ people to vote.

The potential for Donald Trump to become the 2024 Republican presidential candidate was also a factor, with the party's continued support for the former president alienating 53 percent of those polled.

Does Caitlyn Jenner Support Donald Trump?

Jenner claimed she'd received "more flak for being a conservative Republican than I have for being trans" during a talk at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016.

She said she'd voted for Trump in the 2016 general election, but criticized the then-president on social media in 2017, after he revoked federal requirements allowing transgender students to use the school bathroom that matches their gender identity.

Following Trump's decision to reinstate a ban on transgender people joining the military in 2018, Jenner said that "the trans community was relentlessly attacked" by the politician. She publicly renounced her support for the business mogul, accusing him of going back on his election promise to fight for the LGBTQ community.

However, she was seen shaking hands with him at a golf tournament in 2022, before praising the former president on social media following news of his legal struggles.

Caitlyn Jenner's Comments About Transgender People

Jenner's comments about transgender people have also raised eyebrows. In March 2023, she claimed that the transgender community was growing at a "disturbing rate," and is a vocal critic of transgender women competing in sports.

In April 2023, she launched Fairness First, a non-partisan group dedicated to "empowering parental rights, especially in light of recent gender ideology infiltrating children in school."

During a post-launch interview with right-wing publication Breitbart, she claimed that "indoctrination" of young people by Democrats was leading to the "oversaturation" of the transgender community.

"Big government left-wing liberals are all about destroying the family unit, at any cost. That means government gets to take the place of the parents and the families," Jenner said.

"Trans is not made up or fake, but it is oversaturated due to indoctrination and is the latest way the left is destroying the family unit—growing government, the indoctrination in the classroom, and the subsequent drastic increase in children being transitioned is a huge problem."

Has Disney 'Gone Woke'?

Disney has displayed efforts to be more inclusive in recent years, following criticism of racist stereotypes and sexist storylines in its older movies and TV shows.

The studio debuted its first non-binary character in the Pixar animation Elemental, released in July 2023, with the live-action remakes of The Little Mermaid and Snow White featuring actors of color as leads and more feminist narratives.

However, the diversification of Disney's content has received mixed responses from viewers. Many have praised the company's efforts, while others have scorned the move.

Disney is also embroiled in a public legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The Republican politician rescinded Walt Disney World's self-governing status after the company condemned the state's "Don't Say Gay Bill"—legislation preventing Florida schools from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation.

An exclusive poll for Newsweek conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies in July found that 34 percent of viewers disapproved of Disney's attempt to add more LGBTQ topics to its content. Surveying 1,500 eligible U.S. voters, they also discovered that 36 percent either disapproved or strongly disapproved of transgender characters.

A December poll found that Donald Trump supporters are not fans of Disney's more inclusive approach, claiming that Disney films have dropped in quality. Also conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies for Newsweek, researchers discovered that 46 percent of Trump voters felt that Disney movies had gotten "worse" or "much worse," while 38 percent had an "unfavorable" or "very unfavorable" view of the company.