Props to the Kardashians and the Jenners. Linda Thompson praised Caitlyn Jenner‘s kids, including the Kardashian daughters, via Instagram on Thursday, July 16, for their conduct and support throughout the former Olympian’s transition from male to female.
“Giving big props & recognition to Caitlyn’s 10 children for embracing her transition with such grace & devotion,” Jenner’s second wife wrote, alongside a split photo of her sons Brody and Brandon with their half-siblings Burt and Casey Jenner up top. The bottom half of Thompson’s photo includes a group shot of her sons with their half-sisters Kylie and Kendall, as well as their ex-stepsisters Khloe, Kim, and Kourtney Kardashian.
“While Caitlyn deserves commendation for her courage & position to help others in the [LGBT] community, may it not go unrecognized that there are 10 kids, 3 ex wives, & other friends & family who are adjusting to their new reality & a new visage,” Thompson wrote, giving a shout-out to Caitlyn’s exes Kris Jenner and Chrystie Crownover. “My love & respect to especially these 10 who have demonstrated their integrity, strength & empathy. I think this needed to be acknowledged. All love…all respect…”
Like many others, Thompson, 65, watched Caitlyn accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2015 ESPYS held at the Microsoft Theater in L.A., on July 15. “Congratulations @CaitlynJenner on your ESPY award,” Elvis Presley‘s ex wrote on Instagram of the moment. “Your courage is indeed commendable. You looked beautifully elegant & spoke with grace & eloquence. Your children are a credit to life itself & deserve their own recognition for their loving devotion. #proudmoment.”
Indeed, Caitlyn got visibly emotional while addressing her children during the star-studded athletic awards show. “I never wanted to hurt anyone else most of all,” the I Am Cait star, clad in a white Versace gown, told her family members, who were seated in the audience. “My family and my kids: I always wanted my children to be proud of their dad. You guys have given so much back to me…”
Wiping away tears, she acknowledged: “I’m so grateful to have all of you in my life, thank you.”
Thompson, who was married to Caitlyn from 1981 to 1986, has publicly supported the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star since her epic sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer this past April. After the ABC News special aired, Brody and Brandon’s mom penned a lengthy essay, detailing her own personal journey of coming to terms with Caitlyn’s secret.
“Being married to a woman was not what I had envisioned for my life,” Thompson wrote in a Huffington Post letter. “I was so heartbroken that I would get in my car day and night and aimlessly drive up and down Pacific Coast Highway, crying. I mourned the death of my marriage, my man, and my dream of enjoying a lifetime of family togetherness. But I was also empathetic to, and mourned for, the pain that Bruce had experienced every day of his life. As earth-shattering as his confession had been for me, pulling the proverbial rug out from under my world, Bruce’s struggle made mine pale in comparison.”
“My hope and my prayer is that humanity has evolved enough and been properly educated to exercise kindness toward those who have struggled or who we may perceive to be ‘different,’” she shared. “Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that.”
