Caitlyn Jenner Reacts to Her "Over-the-Top Great" Vanity Fair Photos

By Britt Stephens

Caitlyn Jenner made her gorgeous debut on the cover of Vanity Fair this week, and her family, friends, and celebrity supporters extended their kind words and congratulations via social media. On Tuesday, Vanity Fair released exclusive excerpts from her interview with Buzz Bissinger, as well as a behind-the-scenes video featuring Caitlyn on the set of the shoot, talking about the importance of her "presentation" and looking as feminine as possible. She also shared her feelings on other high-profile members of the transgender community, including Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox and writer and activist Janet Mock; Caitlyn called them "pioneers," adding, "I'm following in their footsteps. They made it easier for me." Here are the additional, exclusive quotes from Caitlyn Jenner in Vanity Fair:

  • On feeling "liberated" after the Vanity Fair cover release: "I'm just going to go live life, I'm going to go enjoy life. I have nothing left to hide. I am kind of a free person, a free soul."
  • On how she thinks people will react to the photos: "I'm excited for that one. Honestly, I think the reaction will be, holy crap. I think that when they see the pictures, the images, and all that kind of stuff, learn your name, people will probably go, 'My God, why didn't you do this earlier?'"
  • On being nervous about "looking the part": "I mean these pictures — Annie, Vanity Fair, spared nothing doing it right, and the wardrobe, everything involved with it were just, the people were just great. It was two of the best days of my life. The pictures came out over-the-top great, you know, I was always worried; you never wanted to look like a guy in drag, you never wanted to look like a guy in a dress. If you're going to do that, come out, you really have to look the part. You have to look very feminine. What I call my presentation is extremely important because it puts people at ease. And if you can do that, people are at ease, they're just comfortable being around you."
  • On getting glammed up for the photo shoot: "I had this one time where I had not had a mirror behind me and they put this mirror up behind when I was doing this shoot. I had this rocking black outfit on, formal outfit, and I kind of, from a distance, looked in the mirror and I felt, 'Oh, my God.' That's the first time I'd ever really seen an image of me, of who I am. I mean over-the-top better than I thought it would ever be, especially at my age. You know, you think it's kind of over with at that age. And seeing that image was powerful to me. I kind of looked at it and said, 'You know what, this is going to work, we're going to be OK with this.' So yeah, we move forward. I am so excited about the future."
  • On people already preferring Caitlyn to Bruce: "Even my son Burt said that to me one time. He goes, 'To be honest with you, I think Caitlyn is a lot better person than Bruce.' And I really think he's right, because Bruce always had to tell a lie, he was always living that lie, every day, he always had a secret from morning till night. Caitlyn doesn't have any secrets."
  • On how he hopes his mother will react to meeting Caitlyn: "My mom is, for 89 years old, extraordinarily open-minded. I'd wonder how her reaction will be, but like most people, it's all, all the emotions are in the anticipation of meeting you. Once they meet you and they spend five minutes with you, they go, 'Oh, OK, I get it, big deal, let's go on with life.' And I think my mom will kind of be the same way. We had a conversation the other day, and she goes, 'You know what, I think I can have a better relationship with Caitlyn than I can with Bruce,' because we've always had a little tension in our relationship throughout the years. And so when she ends the conversation, she goes, 'OK goodbye, Caitlyn.' It was very funny, very cute."