Barbara Walters’ Most Fascinating People of 2015 list was pretty basic. This year’s list included Amy Schumer, Donna Karan, Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, Tracy Morgan, Bernie Sanders, and of course, Bradley Cooper. B-Coop was just on the list because Babs is hot for him, and she couldn’t even contain herself. During the interview with Bradley, she actually said: “I find you very screwable.” Well, at least she got those people to talk to her (even Trump gave her an interview). For the second year in a row, Barbara Walters’ #1 Most Fascinating Person in the World refused to give an interview to Barbara Walters. Last year, that person was Amal Clooney. This year, that person was Caitlyn Jenner.
Caitlyn Jenner has earned another honor: the most fascinating person of 2015. Hailed as a “symbol of hope for the transgender community,” host Barbara Walters selected the 66-year-old reality star, who was not interviewed, for the top honor on the list of her annual 10 Most Fascinating People special.
“Our choice for the most fascinating person of the year was once called the world’s greatest athlete,” Walters, 86, started. “Traditionally that title was given to the man who won the Olympic decathlon. When Bruce Jenner won it in 1976, it was a huge accomplishment that had everybody talking. But it was nothing like this. When Bruce Jenner became Caitlyn Jenner, there was a seismic shift in the gender universe.”
Her “celebrity has helped launch a national discussion about transgender rights,” explained Walters with video highlights from Caitlyn’s year. “She has become a champion for the transgender community, raising awareness and advocating for acceptance. Famous and familiar, she raised awareness and acceptance of transgendered people. Through her own transformation, Caitlyn Jenner transformed society this year, and that, for us, makes her the most fascinating person of 2015.”
And she is in great company as Jackie Onassis, Princess Diana, Hillary Clinton and Amal Clooney have all been most fascinating person of the year.
On the face of it, I actually have no problem with this. Caitlyn Jenner radically changed conversations around the country and around the world. She had a headline-making year. She’s being included within all of the year-end lists. But… I think Barbara Walters just named Caitlyn the Most Fascinating because she’s still in some kind of beef with Diane Sawyer. You know Sawyer pissed a lot of people off when she got Caitlyn’s big interview, and you know Walters thought she should have been the one Caitlyn chose. Instead, Walters named Caitlyn the #1 Most Fascinating in the same day that we learned that Caitlyn would be giving another interview to Sawyer around the one-year anniversary of the first interview. This is probably why Caitlyn didn’t do a sit-down with Barbara – Caitlyn is saving all of her exclusives for Diane Sawyer. #JournalismDrama
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Not basic so much as predictable.
At this point it feels like she’s getting awards more because she’s trending than because of any of her actions. She’s on the Kardashian track to success. Make sure everyone’s talking about you even if they can’t point to what you actually do.
I really wish it was more than makeup and the way she dresses. Maybe it’s just part of the process. But to me, it makes these awards seemed watered down – lacking substance anymore. And how can she NOT sit down with BW and do an interview? To me that is wrong.
Agree…I’m finding Caitlyn just as shallow as the rest of the tribe. I applauded her at first and now she just nauseates me.
Amen she’s so full of herself now zzzzzzzzzzzzz
I know Barbra is a trailblazer in women journalism. But, it’s time for her to retire.
She should have retired a long time ago.
this.
Agree. I don’t have a problem with this choice, but the “I find you very screwable” remark pushed it over the edge for me. Just shut it Barbara.
She probably should have retired when she became friends with the Assads. That’s some good judgment right there, Babs.
Totally agree.
I couldn’t watch….I cringed hearing what she said to Bradley Cooper. It’s way overdue to end the View as well -it’s so bad. Barbara is very smart….she must know all this. As for Jenner, I wish he would lead his life PRIVATELY…I don’t want to know! He looks like a man in a dress and that’s that. End of story.
I really admire all the light she put on transgender issues. Even though she’s intrested in herself and is more privileged than 99% of the trans community in the world, she still helped to publicize their struggle.
But,
She honestly creeps me out. Specially her knees and her hands. :/
Do you think that Caitlin has had more or an impact or brought more awareness to the trans community than Laverne Cox?
I think she’s brought A LOT of awareness to the issue due to her Olympic and mostly Kardashian fame so that should count for something in my opinion. All the others have worked way harder than Caitlyn could ever dreamed of but they are not that famous(and not white in some cases) so that’s why they are not at the forefront. Like Tim Gunn said Caitlyn is just a dizzy broad but her fame helped shed light on this issue.
In terms of awareness, Caitlyn had significantly more impact than Laverne Cox. EVERYONE knows who Caitlyn Jenner is at this point, while you’d have to watch OITNB to know Laverne Cox. But I’d say that Laverne has had more of an impact within the trans community, by far.
Nah. I think transgender folk and activists should get the credit for more publicity for their struggle – they’re the ones out there having to clarify and dispel all the terrible information she’s putting out there. They’re having to work overtime on it now.
Exactly and apparently all of the decades of effort they’ve made was worthless till Caitlyn came along to shine that spotlight on the issue – which is not to look too mannish.
I think if Caitlyn didn’t exist, they would have to invent her. She gives them the opportunity to raise important issues just by being herself and saying things based on her lack of experience and perspective – gives people a good reason to counter her words with their real experience while the public is still paying attention. I don’t think Cait is trying to be a problem or wants to be hailed as the representative of all things transgender. She’s just dealing with her own life and trying to figure things out as she goes along, and since she’s a Kardashian at heart it’s all out there in public with cameras rolling. But that does draw attention to the issues and lets people discuss them. Lesser known people may be doing much better work on the issues, but they simply didn’t have the automatic platform Cait has.
No one forced her to do a reality show. No one is forcing her to comment on things she doesn’t really have experience with. She’s also very specifically said that since she has the spotlight she will use it to highlight issues. So yeah, she is lapping up all the publicity and forcing people to do doubletime in correcting all the negative ideas she’s putting out there. She could drop an interview or pap walk or two and maybe, oh, I don’t know, book some time with people to learn some stuff??
Is there NO other choice for any of these accolades? Caitlin seems to be the “go to” person for any n everything…especially to get people talking. I bet this doesn’t blow up they way they’re expecting it to.
I was actually surprised that she didn’t get the Sport Illustrated sportperson of the year award even though that would be completely ridiculous because it does seem that they are giving her all these awards “just because” and to be “in” and not on merit.
Absolutely!
Did Tim Gunn really call Caitlin a dizzy broad? God, I love Tim Gunn 😊
This was pretty predictable. What’s fascnating (sort of) to me is that Barbara couldn’t score interviews with her “Most Fascinating Person” two years in a row.
I’m surprised she keeps picking people who won’t interview with her. I would think the common sense response would be pick the person who’s actually willing to engage. It makes her look like a has-been.
Gi stopped watching those years ago. Putting Trump on the list is even worse than Caitlyn. Also I agree with the other opinions: it was a comeback to Diane more than anything, and a PC move. If Caitlyn would have been a true spokesperson and role model for the trans community I would be thrilled with the choice. But she is not,
Yeah…. She’s so fasinating (eye roll). Her biggest problem is picking out what to wear in the morning. Yawn.
Yup, surprising to see a Jenner forehead with actual lines and movement! Considering the company she keeps…
I’m surprised this silly award is still going on. Who really cares?
Who knows. Babs has been out of touch for quite a while now.
It gets good ratings so it continues
I am truly at a loss as to where this world is headed….
my thoughts exactly
If a male journalist EVER said “I find you very screwable” as part of an interview with a woman, he’d be charged with sexual harassment and it would be all over the news for an eternity. He’d be blackballed and ostracized.
Gender equality goes both ways.
As far as it goes with choosing Caitlyn Jenner as her #1: it was predictable…and makes me wonder if the honor is paid for.
Yesterday I was 100% with you, but I did see it and it wasn’t quite what I thought. Still not great, but a bit better. Bradley Cooper was talking about how he had a conversation with his agent one why he was just getting the obnoxious supporting roles and how he could get bigger roles and his agent said the higher ups are saying he is not f*(*kable. She then said well I find you very screwable. A bit better because he brought it up and it was in jest, but still gross.
See this is what drives me crazy. You only get half the story with the media and people get into an uproar without the actual facts. In context it is way different than reported. Everyone made it seem like she said it out of the blue when in fact it was in response to something else. While it’s still off color it’s no where near as bad as first reported. What’s sad is this happens with MAJOR news stories in this country as well.
ZZZZZZZZZ, hardly the most fascinating, maybe Babwaa is starting to get dementia, it’s certain her social filters are going, saying Bradley Cooper is screwable..
Wow does People ever research anything? Princess Diana and Jackie Onassis were never most fascinating person of the year. Barbara Walters only started this in 1993. Neither was even on the list ever. Jenner is a better choice than Amal Clooney last year, but that is all I’ve got.
Jenner has done more to harm the Transgender community than help it. She’s just reinforced the stereotype that they are just a bunch of vapid, fashion obsessed narcissists. And shes made it clear she had no understanding of what it is to actually be a woman or a persecuted minority. She does the community a disservice no matter how visible she has made the community. She needs to take a seat before she does them anymore harm.
Uhhh no. Walters, as usual, panders toward gossipy celebrity types. Sanders or the Pope would be more fascinating. Anyone other than Jenner the narcissist.
I wouldn’t call Most Fascinating Person of the Year an award. It’s just an observation, not really about what the person has done but about how they have been perceived. Caitlyn actually qualifies because people really are fascinated by her and her transition and her life story. A famous male Olympic athlete (who even graced a Wheaties box and whose name was known to people like me who don’t follow sports), who has been on TV for several years in the midst of a family of women who are Olympic level themselves in being annoying and shallow, goes through the process of officially becoming female and even dresses better than they do. That really is pretty fascinating.
Well, that’s two people that Caitlin fascinating: Walters and Caitlyn.
Ugh.
Barbara Walters Fascinating People list was fascinating ten years ago. Caitlyn Jenner needs to disappear in 2016. Enough already..
It is fascinating that a homophobic privileged narcissistic white man turned trans who says all sorts of degrading things towards others in her situation is #1. Real trans/woman’s/regular peoples struggles are being glossed over for this famewhore. He made people talk but not in the way anyone respectable to the cause would want. Boo!
Exactly. What kills me is she framed her reality show as a tool to educate people about what it means to be transgender. Then she brought sexual orientation into it—which is completely unrelated to gender—claiming she’s still not sure who she’s attracted to. This is probably because she’s a homophobe at heart who doesn’t want to be classified as “gay”. That storyline (because let’s be real, her show was teetering awfully close to scripted Kardashian territory) made middle-American idiot rednecks see her (and other trans people) as a freak who transitioned just so she could change it up in the bedroom. Which does a terrible disservice to trans people trying to educate the extremely uneducated public.
THIS.
Why is Donald Trump getting so much air time. He’s a racist piece of sh*t but whenever I turn on the TV he’s there. On all the late night shows, and now on this stupid list. Stop giving him attention. He should NOT win ! Why do some people get a pass? Paula Deen sure didn’t get one (rightfully so).
Agree with you, me.
Sorry she isn’t fascinating, she is vapid and famewhory like her family. She hasn’t done anything sorry no this is a basic choice.
Just another way Caitlyn’s turning into a Kardashian/media whore. You’d think she’d jump at the opportunity to do two prime time interviews to give her message greater reach. Instead, it’s all about the exclusive. Babs should frame her Caitlyn profile as a “Look, trans people can be assholes, too” narrative. That would kill two birds with one stone: Bring normalcy to transgender issues and call out Caitlyn for sucking.
Oh Please. And what will people say when he ‘trans’ back to Bruce? The Repubs and wingers will believe anyone can be ‘fixed’. Sorry. Don’t buy anything he sells.
Meh.. Ms. Baba Wawa is out of touch. Fascinating? Yep. But it was totally predictable. We ALL knew Caitlin was going to be on the list, but Babs could have shaken it up a bit. What about American Pharoah or the jockey?
The most interesting thing about Caitlyn Jenner is why she doesn’t get dentures that fit.
The answer is yes.
Vapid woman!
So disappointing.What has Caitlyn really done for others?The Pope would have been a better choice with the changes he has made.That took real courage.Barbara has gone down in my books with her choices this year.Doubt that I’ll watch it next year
I’ve never posted but lurked a long time. Jenner would have made a great impression when she started hormones the first time. Instead she chose kris and become just as superficial as the kardasses. She has no idea how to be a real woman or what being a real woman means because she has been with Kris and the others. Make up and clothes and attention is all they know. Now she’s just a sad representation of a trans person. Just sad
So transparent….whatever