Carmen Carrera has been on the tips of everyone’s tongue this month thanks to a popular online petition to make the famous “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum the first transgender model to walk in the recently taped Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Although Carrera didn’t get to strut her stuff for VS, she’s standing strong in her stance about progress for the trans community and recently responded to transphobic comments made by comedian Chelsea Handler.
The trouble between Carrera and Handler began last week when Handler covered the VS story on her show and mocked Carrera by bringing out a deep-voiced man in women’s clothes and joking that it was Carrera and calling the trans model “Victoria’s Dirty Little Secret.”
After Handler’s joke aired, Carrera took to her Facebook page to criticize Handler for her crude joke.
“I crack on myself all the time but when people make dumb stereotypical jokes it’s so corny. Chelsea Handler, your joke on last nights Chelsea Lately was wacked as hell. Come up with something better, I really enjoy your sarcasm but be a little bit more creative. [Calling me] ‘Victorias dirty little Secret’ was funny but having a fake Carmen speak with a deep voice was just stupid and perpetuates false stereotypes. #TransPeopleAreNotaJoke #CarmenArmy #KissMyA—IfYouDisagree,” wrote Carrera.
This week, Carrera appeared on HuffPost Live and criticized Handler again for the joke and explained why such stereotypical jokes can have a negative impact on a minority community.
“It kind of also makes it okay if someone in the streets sees a trans person, [they think] ‘Oh, yeah. It’s okay to make fun of them because everyone else is making fun of them. People are making fun of them on TV so I’m gonna do it, too,’” Carrera explained.
“It’s time for a change. It’s time to embrace women from all walks of life,” Carrera added.
We agree that there’s something to be said about having a sense of humor, but we also agree, and any minority will tell you, when your community is constantly reduced to being the butt of a joke, it leaves little to no room for the rest of the world to see your community as an equal human being. We applaud Carrera for standing up for herself and the whole trans community and helping to shed light on these issues trans people deal with.
Check out some other pioneering trans celebs below. – nicholas robinson
