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[WATER SPLASHES]
Hi.
ANNOUNCER: Munroe Bergdorf is an internationally renowned activist,
model, writer and broadcaster.
[SIREN WHOOPS]
To us, she is nothing short of an icon.
We are so proud to welcome her to the United Nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Munroe Bergdorf.
[APPLAUSE]
REPORTER: Meet Munroe Bergdorf,
a model who has been controversially appointed the UK champion
at UN Women.
REPORTER 2: This move was met with serious backlash,
as Munroe Bergdorf is a trans woman.
DONALD TRUMP: Talk about transgender, everyone goes crazy.
Who would have thought five years ago, you didn't know what the hell it was?
SPEAKER 1: ...women are insulted and annoyed that once again,
a male has taken a place which you would think should be given to a woman.
- SPEAKER 2: ...and a transgender woman. - SPEAKER 3: So let's get a man
who dresses up as a sexual fantasy...
SPEAKER 4: A man is a man
and a woman is a woman,
that's just common sense.
[SIGHS]
Okay.
[CLEAR THROAT] Am I just reading?
Okay. All right.
This is just a rough... um, first draft.
"When I was a child, I ran away from home.
[INDISTINCT VOICES]
I made it as far as the recreation ground
from which I could see my house from a distance.
[MUFFLED, DISTORTED VOICES]
I was eight years old and aware that running away
was not a realistic solution to the problem of not wanting to be there.
This didn't, however, prevent
several future attempts at escape.
I continued to run away long after leaving home,
when the only thing I was running away from was me."
[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
[CHILDREN CHATTERING]
Writing's always been my favourite thing to do.
It was the subject that I was best at in school.
Where I grew up, it was a very sleepy suburban town.
I loved to run around in nature and collect snails.
I was just a very curious child and just, I guess, a little bit strange.
I don't have a very big family.
It's me, my mom, my dad, and my younger brother.
But I had a bit of a turbulent relationship with them.
I didn't feel like they understood me.
Everybody else was part of something,
and I couldn't be honest
with who I was attracted to, who I had a crush on.
I couldn't be honest about my interests.
You know, I wanted to do ballet.
But I was expected to be smaller,
be less effeminate, be less girly.
To tone myself down. It was hard.
My parents did the best that they could, but, like me,
they were probably also scared about what they were seeing.
Back then, TV really was the voice of God,
and popular shows reflected the bigoted views that many people held at the time.
- Niggers are the West Indians. - And this had a huge impact on me.
- These people are wogs! - [LAUGHTER ON TV]
I mean, I couldn't clean your flat 'cause it'd be tantamount
to condoning it, wouldn't it?
Not to mention the fact that the pair of you
might well have AIDS.
MUNROE: The mainstream was white
and the mainstream was straight.
The government is to ban
the promotion of homosexuality in schools.
If Carla lived next door, would you actually go to her house?
There's no Blacks in the community at all.
We don't want no Blacks in our team.
♪ We don't want niggers in our team ♪
MUNROE: Even though I didn't understand it, it always felt very wrong.
MARGARET THATCHER: Children who need to be taught to respect
traditional moral values
are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.
This is the bus stop where Stephen Lawrence
was brutally stabbed to death in a savage racial attack.
- She used to be a man? - She's a transsexual.
- She used to be a fella. - So, now you all know.
And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before.
MUNROE: But I remember watching FashionTV at night
with the sound down...
and I just thought it was the most beautiful thing
that I've ever seen.
I felt like I could do anything by watching it.
I was like, "Wow! You can do this.
You can bring a dream to life in this way."
[SIGHS]
MUNROE: Being queer at school...
[TAPPING ON WINDOW]
...it was just extremely lonely and shame-inducing.
Like, I didn't want to be queer. I didn't wanna be Black.
I wanted to just fit in.
[CHILDREN CHATTER AND LAUGH]
MUNROE: You begin to internalise it
and it embeds itself into your DNA.
I'm not a human being. I represent a question mark.
I was bullied at school consistently,
and then when I came home,
what I really wanted was emotional support,
but my parents never seemed to be able to provide that.
[RINGING TONE]
[SNIFFS]
[RINGING TONE CONTINUES]
Hello, Mummy.
[WHINING]
So there's... there's a camera.
You're being recorded. But it's fine.
If you don't... if you don't...
if you don't want to be recorded,
then we don't have to, but, like,
it's literally just, like, chilled.
In an ideal world, I would love my parents to be in this film,
but we don't live in an ideal world.
Yeah.
FRIEND: I can see what they're saying.
Maybe they have, like, a certain idea of what it's gonna be,
but I don't think it actually aligns
with what you're trying to do.
No, I know. I know.
But I also appreciate, like,
the fact that they wanna kind of keep...
- Of course. - ...our relationship as like a sanctuary.
- Yeah. - But it's... Yeah.
I can understand both sides of it.
Yeah, me too.
I feel like I've got different families.
I've got my birth family.
And then I've got my friends family, my chosen family.
Reece is like my other arm. He's like another brother.
...coming in two hours.
I'm never not laughing when I'm with him.
[LAUGHS] For God's sake.
Reece is a model and a dancer
and an incredibly creative person.
REECE: My queerness or sexuality was suppressed
from birth until my mid-20s
within my biological family,
but when you meet your chosen family,
it's the complete opposite.
It's like finding a gem and realizing
that you can't drop it, you can't lose it.
And then you're like, "Oh, I'm a gem too."
And then, like, you've just got a bag full of gems.
[LAUGHS]
MUNROE: I think for most trans people,
isolation is something that we've all experienced,
especially during our childhood,
and I found it easier to be friends with things or animals,
rather than people.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Then, as I got older, I really started to turn on myself.
Dysphoria becomes a physical thing.
It's something that really puts you
into a prison of your own body.
I just felt so hideous
that I just avoided looking in mirrors,
I avoided looking at my reflection in windows.
[SIGHS]
And that continued until my early 20s,
shortly after leaving home, until I found my community.
As soon as I got to the city, I was like, "Wow!
I can connect with people and I don't feel like I'm going mad."
I started to understand sexuality,
started to understand gender.
I didn't wanna play by the rules.
Oh, I understand the rules, I'm just not doing this.
And it was only then
that I started to realise that I was trans,
that I wanted to begin my transition.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[WHINING]
- REECE: Hi, sister. - MUNROE: Hey.
- Oh! - Hello!
- How you doing? - I'm good. I don't wanna get shit on you.
- I don't mind. - Ooh, you hot and sweaty.
- Yeah. - Have you got SPF?
Do you have some?
Yeah, we should put some on, shouldn't we?
REECE: Yeah, let's do it together.
REECE: So when I first met Munroe,
we crossed paths while I was waiting outside an event
because I was too nervous to go inside.
She naturally took me under her wing without thinking about it.
You look like a hot me... No, not even a hot mess.
- You said what you said! - [LAUGHS]
[PURRS]
REECE: We keep it, like, we keep it happy,
so, in a sense, we can escape from everything.
She doesn't have to be Munroe Bergdorf around me.
She can just be my sister.
Because in the nicest way possible, I'm like,
"I don't want what you have."
It's too much, it's the expectations, the pressure,
the way that people are so intrusive,
but I can help just being by her side.
[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING ON CAR STEREO]
- We are on our way to Trans Pride. - Yes, we is.
I think it's like the third Trans Pride ever.
Today is doll day.
♪ Look at me, you wanna say freedom ♪
- Hi! Hi. - You're amazing.
Oh, thank you.
MUNROE: My life a few years ago
is unrecognisable from what it is now.
...lovely meeting you, but I'm just...
Yeah, I love you so much.
- Oh, thank you. - Yeah, hi. Sorry.
[BOTH LAUGH]
MUNROE: But it's so surreal
that I don't know how to process it.
Being trans is being closer to who you actually are
and how you actually feel.
You learn to honour other people.
Transitioning is survival, it's love, it's autonomy.
It's freedom.
Thank you. I was think... Hi.
Yeah, sure.
Shall we... Shall we... Like this?
Yes.
- Like, hold it... - Yes.
MUNROE: The way in which we are challenging systems
and holding them to account, I'm both hopeful and scared.
- SPEAKER: What do we want? - CROWD: Trans rights!
SPEAKER: Why do we want them?
CROWD: That's our human rights.
[SIREN WAILS]
MUNROE: I'd started working in queer nightlife in London.
And I continued my medical transition. It was incredible.
I felt like I could be whoever I wanted to be.
I could make mistakes, I could change,
I could have access to other trans people so that I knew...
what I was feeling and what was happening to me
wasn't something completely out of the unknown,
and also, being trans, you do feel under surveillance,
and to be around people who were watching me
but for the right reasons.
It was around that time that I met Ava.
She was trans too,
and there was just an understanding between us.
I think meeting her really made me realise,
you know, what actual love is.
There was just a massive connection there...
and we explored it
and there was lots of, like, tension and chemistry,
and it just felt like a bit of a whirlwind.
I'd just never really experienced unconditional love,
that I'm good enough as I am.
It was just really beautiful.
Back then, there was a significant shift
in trans acceptance.
Shows likeOrange Is the New Black andTransparent
created an increased sense of social awareness
and felt like an exciting time.
My name is Sarah McBride
and I am a proud transgender American.
MUNROE: Seeing that shift definitely inspired me
and I guess it helped me to feel confident enough
to realise some of the childhood dreams
that I'd always had but had kept secret.
It wasn't necessarily that I wanted to be a model
because I was the prettiest or that I was the tallest,
'cause I'm not, and I'm okay with that.
But it was I wanted to be part of the creative process.
So when I started meeting people,
photographers, designers, stylists, magazine editors,
I was getting modelling jobs,
trying to take every single opportunity that I could.
I could, you know, throw a look and, um, I could give an energy,
and then I just found myself being cast
by quite influential people,
and then that level of influence
got higher and higher and higher.
That was the beginning of me realizing that I could.
It helped me feel powerful in my difference.
It was something that I could stand tall in,
for the first time to be respected
as the person that I wanted to be, and to find my voice.
I just want people that are trans
to just be able to walk down the street, and...
There's so many other people that have
exactly the same feelings as us
and we're not alone in those feelings,
so the more that we talk
and the more that we create that conversation,
the further that things will push forward at a quicker rate.
I was filled with confidence and hope
of what the world could look like.
I'm pleased to say I'm joined by Munroe Bergdorf,
a transgender advocate and activist
who says London has encouraged her to be herself.
MUNROE: Then everything just changed.
I received an email out of the blue from L'Oréal.
I thought it was spam, and then I did some digging
and it was legit.
I was just like,
"This is the biggest beauty company in the world
and they wanna work with me,
and I haven't seen many trans people
in beauty campaigns."
We shot the campaign in Paris. It was a real out-of-body experience.
Not many people know that it was trans women of colour
that fought for gay rights,
that started the Stonewall riots,
which eventually led to the gay rights movement.
Because we are all worth it.
But as great as the opportunity was,
the takedown was ten times worse.
[CHILDREN CHATTER]
Saying what you really feel
and being who you really are
can get you into a lot of trouble.
- [SCREAMING] - REPORTER: One person is dead and 19 are injured
after a speeding vehicle drove into protesters
marching peacefully through downtown Charlottesville.
This comes after a day of clashes
between alt-right protesters and counter-demonstrators
earlier this morning.
Munroe Bergdorf reportedly posted this on Facebook:
"Honestly I don't have energy
to talk about the racial violence
of white people any more.
Yes, all white people."
Those are the words which saw model Munroe Bergdorf
sacked by L'Oréal.
REPORTER: The cosmetic giant said
Bergdorf's comments were, quote,
"At odds with the company's values."
MUNROE: It really forced me to fight for myself
in a way that I had never fought for myself before.
"All white people are racist."
As a white person I find that offensive.
Please let me speak.
You must have known when you wrote
your very public Facebook post
just how sensitive those words were going to be.
You seem to think that white people are uniquely evil.
- I'm talking about society. - No, no. You said,
"Whites are the most violent and oppressive people."
"Honestly, I don't have the energy
to talk about racial violence
of white people any more.
Yes, all white people."
Do you think that all white people are racist?
I don't think that all white people are, by nature, racist.
Um, from conception to birth,
I think that we are all the same,
but we need to speak about how we're socialised as a people,
and my post was based
on socialisation and racism as a structure.
You say there's a context to the comments that you made.
I was angry and I think everybody was angry at that point,
but I wrote it because I wanted to talk about
where the root of racism is.
I suppose the trouble people have with it
is the accusatory nature of it.
It's only accusatory because I'm not a white man.
The only reason why that status got the traction that it did
is because it was such a scandal
that a Black transgender queer woman spoke up against racism.
The response that I've had over the last two days
has been the worst time of my life.
All hell broke loose.
Somehow I'm the problem for speaking about the problem,
and I was suddenly responsible for racism against white people,
for talking about racism against Black people.
People threaten to kill you.
I had people saying that they were gonna break into my house,
they knew where I lived, they were gonna cut my head off and fuck my skull.
Politicians drumming up hate towards me.
I had news stations dedicating entire segments
to what an awful person I was
for speaking out against racism, essentially.
It was scary.
I don't have words...
You immediately came out after you were fired
with all the stuff about all the insults you've had and so on and so on.
Of course you're going to get insulted.
Now you're playing your old trick of being the victim.
[CHILDREN CHATTER AND LAUGH]
[PANTING]
I'm an ideology, I'm a nightmare, I'm a joke.
My whole world implodes.
I didn't feel lovable.
Why would anybody want to be with someone
who's being dragged through the mud in the press
every single day?
I felt undatable and didn't feel like I deserved Ava's love
and I just couldn't accept it.
I didn't feel like I had anything to give her
and she felt quite neglected.
So we broke up.
I just shut down.
I... I don't think I've ever felt like...
like just so on my own.
It was, uh... But, like, not just so on my own.
It was like...
I just felt like my life just didn't... didn't matter.
It was just...
It was like I couldn't be pushed far enough.
JUSTIN: I'm susceptible to a good debate and a clip came up...
and I was really struck by it.
I felt she was relentlessly
having to defend herself.
Let me speak instead of speaking over me.
- PIERS MORGAN: The floor is yours. - Okay.
So, basically, instead of taking it personally,
please think about how to be part of the solution...
PIERS: Why don't you think about being part of the solution?
- I am part of the solution. - You're not. You're causing more division.
- I'm not causing more division. - You're basically causing more division...
- Piers, by speaking about... - ...by telling all white people...
- Piers, let me speak. - ...they're racist.
By talking about racism is not causing a divide.
There's a divide anyway. We need to be speaking about
what the root of racism, what the root of sexism is.
JUSTIN: Just thought, "Fucking hell, she's amazing."
I love how she handled herself in that.
What I thought I saw was a fragile superstar in waiting.
KIM: He said, "Kim, you've got to check out this woman.
She's incredible."
JUSTIN: I sent her this email,
"I'd really love to chat to you about managing you."
To have somebody see and believe me
and want to help and nurture and guide, it felt right.
We met in a coffee shop and, um...
JUSTIN: She kind of stopped me from talking and said,
"I would like to work with you,
so shall we just talk about what we're gonna do?"
KIM: For me personally, it was quite intimidating.
I hadn't managed anybody like that before,
somebody so smart, so incredibly driven,
but where there was so much at stake.
You don't need to put up with racism.
PIERS: Does it help that Kanye West...
JUSTIN: She could do nothing right
in the eyes of the media,
because every time she raised her head
above the parapet,
someone was ready to just knock her
straight back down again.
REPORTER: The NSPCC has ended its relationship
with transgender activist Munroe Bergdorf,
following safeguarding concerns.
This is the third time now
that you've been removed from a very public role.
What do you think is behind that?
Transphobia. It's not just me.
Being a trans person in the UK at the moment
is like being a second-class citizen.
So explain what you meant by,
"If you lop off your dick and wear a dress,
doesn't make you a fucking woman."
Well, it doesn't make you a fucking woman.
It makes you a man without a cock.
- [APPLAUSE] - Let me put that to you. Munroe...
MUNROE: The fact is that we exist and that we deserve respect
- just like anybody else, which... - [APPLAUSE]
...Germaine is obviously not willing to give.
Munroe, can you talk us through your stage of transitioning?
Um...
- What procedures have you had? - What procedure?
JUSTIN: We knew that Munroe didn't want
to just be paraded around on these shows
and panels and news bits to just repeat what she'd said.
She wanted much more for herself.
She was much more ambitious than that,
and we were for her.
- MUNROE: Hi. - FRIEND: Hello.
MUNROE: Do you wanna come over? I'm just having a fitting.
But it's just all of, like, the outfit options
for, like, GAY TIMES.
Ooh! Well done!
Yeah, with like, um...
This is really nice. It's got a nice strip...
- What size is that? - 10 to 12.
MUNROE: It was like, I'm not willing to live a life broken,
and I'm definitely not gonna live a life broken
for these arseholes,
so I think the only option
is to pick myself up and thrive and shine
and be the most optimum version of myself.
[CHUCKLING]
Love it.
KIM: What we want is
to help and to guide
and to support.
She had goals she wanted to reach
and we had to together figure out the best way to get there.
JUSTIN: Her goal within that was to be on the cover ofVogue.
That's what she'd dreamt about since being a kid
and hiding them under her bed.
KIM: We always said to Munroe
to move into this fashion world,
she needed to sort of build her own brand.
JUSTIN: Munroe's passion really lay in activism
and within fashion,
and she wanted to be able to combine the two
to really amplify her voice.
STYLIST: The train just needs taking out.
STYLIST 2: I'm gonna try and do this as quick as I can anyway.
MUNROE: It's such a pressure of people not believing
that you were actually a woman...
unless you look so undeniable.
And when that's the condition
of you being believed to be who you are...
then your defence is, "Well, I'm gonna double down",
and I guess that kind of stuck.
I guess it's like armour.
I could just turn up to my engagements without any make-up on
and my hair pulled back in braids like I want to,
and it wouldn't be a thing, and I used to,
but you just get so, so bashed.
I love to just be, like, in sweats all the time,
but, like, I guess that's not the image that I portray of myself
because I kind of feel like it's vulnerable
and it's, like, really me.
[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
I feel like I can take people
taking shots at the put-together version of me
'cause it's not really real.
I struggle 'cause I think,
"Is that why I look the way that I look?
Is that why I'm so hyper-fem with my presentation
because it's a defence mechanism?"
It's got nothing to do with my womanhood
because I'm a woman regardless.
It's about keeping people at arm's length.
And I feel like if they were to tear apart the vulnerable version,
then I wouldn't really have anything left.
KIM: We got opportunities with people
who were prepared to embrace all of Munroe.
A lot of it was in her own community,
but it started to trickle out quite quickly.
Sometimes it happens where everything aligns,
and this was her time.
Britain, what a year it's been. What a decade.
We've come so far, fought so fiercely,
and reshaped the world to include us in it.
Celebrating all queer bodies, no matter what form they may take.
Long live our Qweens.
KIM: She went full force
and achieved far greater
than I think any of us could have predicted.
There was lots of accolades to be celebrated
but also a hell of a lot of communication
surrounding the trans community, the Black community.
It was a lot, but it was a hugely exciting time for Munroe.
Munroe is...
...a person who constantly challenges
prejudice and injustice.
- ANNOUNCER: Munroe Bergdorf! - [APPLAUSE]
[LAUGHS]
We show up for us.
SPEAKER: It is my absolute honour
to present Munroe Bergdorf
for the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters
of the University of Brighton.
[APPLAUSE]
REPORTER: Munroe Bergdorf named byBritish Vogue
as one of the 25 most influential women
in the country.
REPORTER 2: She's been named among 100 Great Black Britons.
The first transgender woman
to be on the front cover of Cosmopolitan UK.
Let's bring that back to South Africa.
What's the significance of Munroe Bergdorf?
The significance is that the moment you now have
a trans woman on a front cover,
you are validating our existence.
MUNROE: I just received a voice note
telling me that I'm gonna be on the cover ofBritish Vogue.
[LAUGHS] What?
I thinkBritish Vogue is the pinnacle of everything
that I never thought that I would ever get to achieve.
This feels like a dream.
To be part of this cover, if I'd seen this growing up,
I just think it would have been so empowering to see
that queerness can take on so many forms.
It started to feel like things falling into place.
- Hello. - Hello!
A big part was that I no longer felt like
I was doing it alone.
Everyone needs allies,
and my allies are Justin and Kim.
- That's me. - Oh, it is you. Oh, right. Oh, my God!
I couldn't even tell. Because her head's not in it.
- Her head's not in it. - MUNROE: That'll be me.
JUSTIN: The trans fight is an important fight
that affects all of us.
Especially as a straight, white, cisgender guy,
it's really important for me to help fight those battles.
And for Munroe, the next thing she wanted to do
was to write her book.
As a trans person, as a queer person,
I wanted to be able to tell my story
because the shame that I felt throughout my life
was so isolating
and I needed to get that pain out.
KIM: Munroe was about to step into writing something
that would take her to the absolute depths.
JUSTIN: It was potentially gonna put Munroe
in an incredibly vulnerable headspace,
and we had to prepare for that.
I had an immense amount of trauma
that I hadn't been acknowledging
and I was just in a hamster wheel,
going and going and going and going,
and the trauma was right there this whole time.
When you look at your life on pages
and you can join all the dots together,
you start to understand yourself in a different way.
DIRECTOR: Perfect. Okey doke. Lights up.
MUNROE: We're filmingQueerpiphany.
- Oh, yes, baby, we're talking queer. - Oh!
- We're talking epiphanies. - Love it.
We're talking Queerpiphany!
I love a mashed-together word.
- Gay rights! - [PHONE CHIMES]
[BOTH LAUGH]
MUNROE: Tayce and I have a show for MTV UK.
I never thought that I would see
a Black trans woman and a Black drag queen
not be the sidekick.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Ooh.
[CRACKING]
[LAUGHTER]
- MUNROE: That's a lawsuit. - [LAUGHTER]
MUNROE: Yeah, this is a very joyful show.
Obviously, we touch on adversity,
but the main crux of it is really just having fun.
- Gonna get ya. - [LAUGHTER]
MUNROE: Tayce and I are interviewing
queer icons, public figures,
about the moments in pop culture
that helped them understand
their queerness and their identity.
I kind of think about when I was, you know, in my teens
and I knew I was trans,
but I didn't really pick up on the clues.
And then your life just needs
to kind of take its turn, doesn't it?
And you look back and you're like, "Okay, well, I mean,
this is what was meant to happen all along."
I always think maybe I did know
and I just didn't wanna acknowledge it at all.
I think if I hadn't moved down to London,
I don't know how quickly I would have noticed...
There you go. London turns everyone queer.
London, then, needs to be cancelled next, guys.
MAKE-UP ARTIST: How's it going with the book?
MUNROE: It... I just... I don't even know
how I've managed to get it to this point.
Yeah, oh, my God, just getting this book fucking in,
I'm just, oh...
Everyone's always like, "But isn't it cathartic?"
when I talk to them about this book.
- What does that mean? - And it's like, "No."
It means, like, doesn't it help you get your feelings out?
Oh. And you said it made you feel worse.
I feel like it's made me feel worse.
- It's been really tough. - Yeah.
Reading it back, I'm like, "How...
How did I claw myself to this point?"
Writing this book's confronting,
like I had a mirror held up to me for the first time
and I could no longer deny
what I'd been denying for so long.
An immense amount of pain.
Are people going to understand or are they going to blame me?
Because I blamed myself.
In this book, I started to realise how much I do that.
It's your fault that you ended up in abusive relationships.
It was your fault that you were on the internet,
exposing yourself to paedophiles,
and it was your fault that you were hooking up with somebody
who was making child pornography of you.
I guess, like, I just, you know, I really just wanted to be loved
and I guess I looked... I looked for that in the wrong places.
It's easy to end up with people who will manipulate
that desperation and that loneliness.
[WHISPERING VOICES]
And you end up chasing it
because you are love-bombed initially
and promised the world,
and then, slowly but surely,
you're isolated from your friends.
You're controlled. You're told what to wear.
You're cut off from your parents.
You're told that your parents don't love you.
You're told that no one else will love you
apart from this person.
And before you know it, they've got you.
I've been in the most abusive of situations.
I've been violently raped. I've been stalked.
I've been harassed.
I've been dehumanised, been beaten.
[SIGHS]
I wanna live a life where I can free myself of all of the pain,
but it's hard enough revisiting my own worst experiences,
never mind knowing that I'm doing this
on behalf of so many others.
KIM: At that time, theVogue cover hit the stands
and we felt like we'd won.
But at the same time, there was absolutely no denying
what was going on societally with trans rights.
Should Ricky Gervais be allowed to go on stage
and take the mick out of the LGBTQ+ community?
'Cause that's what he's been doing.
I love the new women. I know they're new women.
They're great, aren't they?
The new ones we've been seeing lately,
the ones with beards and [BLEEP].
They're as good as...
They're as good as gold. I love them.
Personally, I think yes, he should be able to.
If they wanna be treated equally, he attacks everyone.
Around a hundred people have protested
outside Netflix headquarters in California
over the broadcast of a comedy special by Dave Chapelle
which they say is transphobic.
I, personally, am not afraid
of other people's freedom of expression.
I'm sorry if I hurt anybody,
et cetera, et cetera, yada-yada-ya.
Everything I'm supposed to say.
JUSTIN: There was huge backward steps going on,
socially and politically.
I'm a plain-talking Yorkshire woman,
- and I know that a woman is a woman. - [APPLAUSE]
In the UK alone, we've had Naomi Hersi,
for example, who was murdered last year,
Amy Griffiths a few months ago as well,
so these attacks are real and actual.
REPORTER: 2022 could be the most anti-trans
legislative year in history.
Uganda's parliament has passed a bill
which would criminalise people who identify as LGBTQ.
Homosexual acts are already illegal
in the East African country,
but the bill seeks to go further
and criminalise people
on the basis of their sexual identity.
For us, this means death.
JUSTIN: Munroe was now a global voice
and expected to speak on behalf of the community.
KIM: And her mental health was being affected a lot.
It was incredibly overwhelming.
There was a hell of a lot of pressure.
And we had concerns.
[SHOUTING ON VIDEO]
KIM: Also, writing this book,
it was just everything all at once.
- [SIREN WAILS ON VIDEO] - PROTESTER: The government must die!
JUSTIN: This was a lot for one person to handle.
[PROTESTERS CHANTING ON VIDEO]
JUSTIN: It was really beginning to affect Munroe
physically as well as mentally
and we were really worried about her.
- Munroe? - Munroe.
[CHEERING]
MUNROE: How I feel about public speaking
largely depends on what's going on in my personal life.
I often think, "Am I gonna be able to deliver?"
Right.
I don't know what I'm saying on stage.
- Shall we go in a quiet corner? - Yes, please.
I'm just pleased that you're here and you are on the stage, Munroe.
- No, I'm up for it. I'm really up for it. - Yeah.
MUNROE: Being the first transperson to achieve certain things
can weigh quite heavy 'cause you're like,
"I need to get this right."
[SPECTATORS CHEERING]
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
And there's a lot of spectators watching.
[SPECTATORS CHEERING]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
It makes me feel like I am on a rollercoaster
and it's just going up and up and up.
ANNOUNCER: ...model, activist, Munroe Bergdorf.
- Give it up for Munroe. - [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Hello, Pride in London.
It's so good to be here today. Thank you so much for having me.
[CHEERING]
This year's theme is "All Our Pride"
and Pride is for all of us.
Words just stopped coming out of my mouth.
[CHILDREN LAUGH]
[WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE]
At Pride...
the mask just started to slip.
Tonight's honouree is a crucial voice in the trans community,
using her far-reaching influence to educate and inspire.
The winner of the GAY TIMESHonour
for British Community Trailblazer,
Munroe Bergdorf.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
For... [STAMMERS]
For four or five years,
I've really tried my hardest to be a beacon for my community,
and over the last six months I've really struggled
- with my mental health and... - [SPECTATOR CALLS OUT]
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
MUNROE: And then it was around this time
that I found out that Ava had passed away.
[PHONE CHIMES]
JUSTIN: Hey, I've literally just heard.
Um, I really hope you're okay.
Yeah, message me if you can, if you're up to it.
Just sending lots of love.
[PHONE CHIMES]
KIM: Hey, M, if you wanna talk, I'm here.
Just letting you know. Um, just give me a shout.
- [PHONE CHIMES] - REECE: Hey, sis.
I tried to call you, but you didn't answer.
Can you holla me back so I know that you're doing good, please?
JUSTIN: So we're clearing the diary for the next couple of weeks,
and let's maybe rethink Fashion Week and New York.
- [PHONE CHIMES] - REECE: Babe,
give me some communication so I know you're doing okay.
I know how you get, you might not wanna talk about it, but...
KIM: ...when you're feeling up to it, give me a shout.
I'm around today...
REECE: ...so let's talk...
[CAT MEOWS]
MUNROE: When anyone passes away, if it's suicide,
you always kind of feel like if I had done more,
would they still be around?
It's just difficult to hear about, like,
how hard things were for her.
For somebody to, like, not know how to go on with their life
is complete and utter isolation,
and I've been there, like, right at the brink...
but to actually do it,
that's just the saddest thing that I can imagine.
And I think that it's only rivalled by the sadness
that this leaves behind with all of the people that loved them.
She will always be the love of my life.
I don't think I've ever loved anyone as much as I loved her.
I think... I don't... I... I hope I... I mean, I hope I do.
I hope I... I hope I meet... I hope I have many more loves.
Because what a waste. If... If we can't love, then what's the point?
[SNIFFS]
The amount of people that I've known to die
for various reasons...
in just really sad, sad ways...
and people are always like, "Oh, this person had such a sad life."
I say, "No, we live in a fucking sad society,
like, we live in a society
that pushes people to kill themselves,
that pushes families to kick out their children,
that pushes people to hate themselves."
And it makes me so angry,
and that's why we need to keep fighting.
The life expectancy for a transgender woman is so young,
and for it to be Ava is just heartbreaking.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Just a friendly reminder, folks,
that the fasten seatbelts sign is still illuminated,
so please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened...
MUNROE: I guess Ava passing
just made me realise that I'm alive.
I have to live, I have to keep going,
and even though all of this shit just keeps happening,
like, I'm alive and I make sure that I'm looking after myself.
I just need to just not let
her no longer being alive be in vain.
I need to make sure that I'm living every day.
REECE: Hello, sister. How are you? I hope you're good. Um...
I wanted to send you a quick voice note to check in with you
and wanted to quickly wish you
the biggest heap of luck for walking
and I hope you're handling everything okay mentally.
I love you and stay strong, keep being a bad beetch.
[LAUGHS]
Aw.
KIM: It's New York Fashion Week. We encouraged Munroe not to go.
But it doesn't really matter how bad things are
for her in her personal life,
to Munroe, it's an opportunity to represent,
and to her, that's more important.
We walk down and then back, and then we go again?
Yeah, so you're doing a double loop, right?
You're gonna hug the benches.
You're gonna come in over here on that side.
MUNROE: I think I'm just starting to get back to myself.
Fashion gives me joy. Feeling like you're in the moment.
The expression and the artistry.
I feel like I'm having a breakthrough,
and it feels really weird
to have it come from a really sad situation.
It's made me realise that I can't live in fear any more.
And there's a real opportunity here
for me to make things better for people like Ava.
I've decided that I want to dedicate the book to Ava,
in memory of her.
I'm just gonna have to live for both of us now.
- Ah! Billy, that's, like, nearly out. - Ah, Billy, that's out!
- Do I push it back in? - ALL: No!
REECE: Upwards. Not to anyone. Upwards, upwards. Up.
- [CORK POPS] - Whoo! I caught it!
[LAUGHTER]
- MUNROE: Amazing. - REECE: Yeah. Look.
Okay, wait. I actually wanna do a speech for you.
- Yes! - So I'm gonna stand up.
I don't wanna look at my phone, but I have, like,
five really tiny, small bullet points.
- You made notes! - Not notes, just bullet points.
- Okay, that's fine. - But I will stand.
- And you will see the Mugler. - [LAUGHTER]
Um, okay.
I really appreciate you, and it's like a heavy weight
to be that first Black trans UK woman
and all the shit that they put on that,
but I think that's something you should honour very deeply.
I feel like we have to focus, even if we don't want to,
on all the hardships that you've endured
throughout your career and life
because I believe that it has made you
the woman that you are today...
and I wanna thank you for creating my first chosen family.
You was my first chosen sibling.
So happy birthday, Munroe.
- Love you. - Love you loads.
Yeah, we love you.
[LAUGHTER]
ALL: ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
- MUNROE: Thank you. - FRIEND: Make a big wish.
Don't tell us what it is, though.
- REECE: Oh! - All right.
All right, be careful.
They're sparkly ones.
- Oh. - Oh, as if. As if.
What am I? 12?
MUNROE: There's always been a voice inside of me
that was unsure whether or not I would make it past 35.
So to be 36 is exciting
because I've got so much to look forward to
and to be grateful for.
ALL: Yay!
MUNROE: With Felix, I think it was...
I was ready...
and I don't think either of us really saw it coming.
It's just been a bit of a fairy tale, to be honest,
and I've lowered my defences and I've opened myself up
to the possibility of love again.
And I guess I've just been
building my vision for the future,
not defining myself by accomplishments
but how good a friend I am and how good a girlfriend I am
and, you know, who I want to be
outside of accolades and column inches.
I guess my entire way of viewing my life
and who I am just shifted
and I'm so much happier because of it.
REPORTER: This is BBC News. Our headlines.
A 15-year-old boy and girl
are arrested on suspicion of murder
following the death of 16-year-old...
REPORTER 2: Brianna Ghey found dead
in a park in Warrington.
REPORTER 3: The girl who killed Brianna was fascinated by her.
The boy referred to her as "it".
These institutions who continually drive
this horrendous culture war,
who are driving negative perceptions of trans people,
for them to come out here and say, "What a tragedy,
what a sad loss of life we see here",
I'm like, "You all played a part in the current culture
around trans people at the moment."
And that just brings a whole new bunch
of worries and concerns.
It's very, very scary to be, like, trans in the UK right now,
or trans anywhere.
MUNROE: The worst thing that could possibly happen
is the murder of a child.
It's because of the culture
and environment of violence that we are currently in.
Like a lot of trans people in the UK,
it's a very toxic environment that we're navigating right now,
and it's steadily gotten worse over the past five years.
And when you say it's got worse, Munroe,
what do you mean, over the last five years?
'Cause some people would hope
that we would have been making progress.
Yes, and I think there's a lot of, um...
there's a lot of toxic debate, and as we have seen this week,
- you know, trans people are at risk... - Yeah.
...and are in danger and, you know, paying with our lives.
They are much more at risk than they are the danger, of course.
Well, exactly.
It's the collective frustration of our community,
screaming at the top of our lungs that we want our rights,
that we want our safety, that we want our healthcare,
that we want to be heard,
because if we aren't, this is what happens.
We are all part of society.
Society is creating a culture of violence.
Culture wars have consequences.
For trans people, within the spaces that I move in,
in fashion, things are getting better.
But within wider society,
things aren't getting better.
And that's why I'm trying to create awareness
outside of our community,
to wider society,
so that change can happen.
I guess this is the moment of truth.
With the launch of this book,
I do feel exposed.
It's nerve-racking.
- Hey. - Hello.
- You all right? - I'm good. How are you?
Could you help me do these up, please?
I'm worried that you're nervous.
What? Don't say that.
That's gonna make me nervous.
No. But you don't need to be.
[SPECTATORS CHATTERING]
I just want people, like...
I hope that there's, like, more people come.
Freaking out.
Whoo! Right.
- Here we go, guys. - KIM: Deep breaths. Some deep breaths.
[HEART BEATING]
[PANTING]
ANNOUNCER: Without further ado,
please give a really, really warm welcome
to Munroe Bergdorf and Clara Amfo.
- Thank you. - [APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
MUNROE: Oh, wow.
Munroe, first up, in this moment, how are you?
Wow. Well, I have been so nervous in the lead-up to this event.
Writing a memoir is a real, um, excavation of your past.
In going through your life
and trying to see it with adult eyes,
you get to, you know, hug your inner child a lot,
so there's been so much healing from it as well.
Um, but even, you know, just being here...
The thread that runs throughout the book
is really one of isolation
and the effects of homophobia, transphobia, racism, misogyny.
You often experience that on your own.
But then you start sharing your stories,
and when we start listening to each other's stories
and speaking up and sharing how it made us feel,
people can see themselves in us,
and you can see yourself in another person,
and it's a connection that stems that isolation.
- Hi. - I just could relate so much of what you were saying.
It just meant a lot to me to hear.
You're making us fight harder, especially in Africa,
where we literally don't have role models.
And you doing something like this
and being available on the internet and everywhere,
- it changes the world. - Thank you.
- I do thank you so much. - Thank you.
We are the product of everything that we've ever experienced,
but we're also the product of each other,
and I think that that's such a beautiful thing.
Ultimately, it's really about just showing up
for each other's causes.
We don't have all of each other's answers,
but we need to come together and talk.
Just don't keep it to yourself. Share your stories.
And you shared your story beautifully.
- Munroe, thank you so, so, so much... - Thank you.
- [APPLAUSE AND CHEERING] - ...for being so excellent.
- Thank you. - Yes, go on, give it up for Munroe.
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING CONTINUES]
Do I stand up?
...my sisters were like some of the only Black people in our school.
Oh, God, yeah, I know how that feels.
You just made me really happy
and I'm glad that you are where you are now.
I transitioned four years ago
because I finally had people show me that it was possible.
Not only do you inspire young people,
you inspire trans elders too.
And now I'm gonna cry.
You are one of many beacons of hope,
and we're so grateful.
Thank you. Oh! Come here.
- Thank you so, so much. - Thank you.
You sound like someone that's been in a really, really dark place...
- Yeah. - ...and now, like, sun radiates from you,
and I just feel like that gives me hope,
that that's, like, part of my hope.
When I think about being shy and not using my voice,
like, in activism as well,
I'm like, "Munroe can do it, I can do it."
- Yeah, yeah. Thank you. - Thank you so much.
[SQUEALING AND LAUGHTER]
MUNROE: It's like I'd just played the Super Bowl.
I don't think I've felt that happy in a very long time.
Even if I've never seen anybody like myself
in some of the rooms that I'm in,
I'm not afraid to be that first person.
That there's something incredibly important
in seeing marginalised people in positions of power.
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen,
UN Women UK Changemaker,
Ms. Munroe Bergdorf.
MUNROE: But with change comes pushback.
UN Women UK charity
has now just chosen a transgender model as their first UK champion.
...UK's model and not just any trans model,
they gave it to Munroe Bergdorf.
...says organisations have labelled Bergdorf unsuitable...
...are insulted and annoyed
that once again a male has taken a place
which you would think appropriately
should be given to a woman.
[APPLAUSE]
MUNROE: But pushback
is a sign of progress.
A lot of people will have, um, heard
about a beauty campaign that I was involved in,
and I was actually sacked from that campaign,
and actually today I'm now a consultant
for that same brand that sacked me.
Um, because I think it's really important... Thank you.
The way that the world is going is that, you know,
people are dating and procreating
outside of their races.
People are identifying in diverse ways
that for so long they haven't had the confidence to.
People aren't afraid any more
in the ways that they were,
and this is why it's so important that the imagery,
when it comes to advertising, when it comes to fashion,
is progressive.
It's really important that we be the change,
rather than waiting for the people that are...
that should be making the change to change things.
Thank you for your work, for your voice, for your courage
and for your time with us today.
- Thank you so much for having me. - Thank you, Munroe.
I love that. Get that sign.
"Give me oestrogen, you cowards."
Last year, I feel like I lost my voice and my direction
and I really had to have a reckoning
with what I wanted and who I am.
But now I'm ready to not only be a voice for my community
but also speak up for myself and show up when I'm needed.
CHANTING: We're here, we're trans,
we're gonna throw some hands!
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
ANNOUNCER: Look around, everybody!
Look at all of the beautiful people that are here today.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Can we all make some noise for the incredible, the legendary,
Munroe Bergdorf, everybody!
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
- Happy Trans Pride, everyone! - [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
I feel so, so, so blessed to be here.
When I began my transition 13 years ago,
I couldn't have imagined this time that we're in.
We've got so much to be angry about,
but I think it's really important
that we stand in the love as well,
and that we don't look at the darkness
for long enough for it to blind us,
to remember that we are the light.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Trans rights frees everyone.
All that we're fighting for is bodily autonomy.
The right to do with and what you want with your body,
and that stands for everyone.
Allies, we need you to be fighting with us now more than ever.
We are less than one percent of the population.
If you don't fight with us,
then things are not gonna change.
There is hope.
We've seen how far the gay rights movement has come
in just over 50 years.
I feel massively excited to where we will be
as the trans community in less time than that.
We are on the precipice of a breakthrough.
All of this today, all of this today,
this is the change in real time.
Thank you so, so much. Love and rage.
Happy Pride!
When I was younger,
I think it was harder for me to use my words
because I didn't really know who I was.
Make some noise for Munroe Bergdorf, everybody!
MUNROE: I didn't want to be queer. I didn't wanna be Black.
I wanted to just fit in.
But now, those two things
are the things that I love most about myself.
The likelihood is that I'm gonna be an old woman
by the time that the world starts to resemble
the one that I want it to look like.
But I've fought so hard
to be able to be the person that I am.
I'm not gonna give up.
[♪ TOM RASMUSSEN AND NOAH INGS: "JOY"]
♪ Connected by moonlight, red light, spotlight ♪
♪ Dancing barefoot, freedom, train going north ♪
♪ Eating, pomegranate, souls, gossip... ♪
- Ah! Thank you. - Thank you, thank you.
♪ Big dreams, touching under the table, you live... ♪
MUNROE: They just asked me to be a contributing editor. Ooh!
♪ Ooh, I want your future... ♪
...two, three, girl power!
♪ I want your future... ♪
A seagull landed on my head and stole my doughnut. That was a hate crime.
♪ Packaging, promising a future, smoking...♪
Munroe meets Pip.
♪ And you're running, running ♪
♪ You're running, you're running into the moment ♪
♪ A moment, a moment ♪
♪ The moment of pleasure, the moment, the moment ♪
♪ The moment of freedom, the moment ♪
♪ The moment of clarity, the moment, the moment ♪
♪ The moment of us two, just us two, just us two ♪
♪ I want your future ♪
♪ I want your joy ♪
♪ I want your future ♪
♪ I want your sexuality ♪
♪ I want your future ♪
♪ I want your joy ♪
♪ I want your future ♪
♪ I want your sexuality ♪
♪ Feel it burnin', burnin' inside me ♪
♪ Like roses and water and oceans and fire ♪
♪ And you feel it, feel it, flying inside you ♪
♪ Like thickness and children and love and our history ♪
♪ I call you from nowhere and then you are everywhere ♪
♪ It's us two in the moment, in the moment of pleasure ♪
♪ And this is brotherhood, sisterhood, otherhood ♪
♪ And you reach down and pull out my lungs ♪
♪ And you hold them so gently and you are breathing for me ♪
♪ I let you, just let you, I let you breathe for me ♪
♪ I tell you, I tell you when you need it ♪
♪ That I'll breathe for you, for you, for you, for you ♪