Caitlyn Jenner A True Beauty At ESPYs

Caitlyn Jenner showed what real beauty was at the ESPY Awards the other night, from both an emotional and a physical perspective. Several of her supporters hit the red carpet at the awards show to express their admiration. Her mother Esther Jenner, her sister Pam Mettler, her six children and Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian were among those there to support Caitlyn Jenner during her emotional and moving acceptance speech. Rob Kardashian was the only member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan missing in action during the show.

Caitlyn Jenner was named the winner of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and during her acceptance speech, she acknowledged how isolated she was in her transition experience in many ways. She said she hadn’t met another transgendered person until a few months ago and said in her speech that the award, for her, had nothing to do with publicity, as some may have thought. Caitlyn Jenner has been a growing advocate for transgender acceptance since her “coming out” interview with Diane Sawyer earlier this year.

While she stunned in a Versace gown, it was Caitlyn Jenner’s poised and emotional acceptance speech that earned her a second standing ovation.

“It’s about what happens from here. It’s not just about one person,” Caitlyn Jenner told the audience. “It’s about thousands of people. It’s not just about me, it’s about all of us accepting one another. We’re all different. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing.”

Caitlyn Jenner wasn’t the only one to get teary-eyed during her acceptance speech. Her daughters Kendall and Kylie wiped tears away during the speech, with the moment being captured under a camera’s watchful eye. During her acceptance, Caitlyn Jenner expressed her gratitude for her entire family’s support and for the work television newsperson Diane Sawyer did in her “coming out” interview back in April.

Abby Wambach, fresh off the US Women’s National Soccer Team’s FIFA win, introduced Caitlyn Jenner, sparking one of the two standing ovations that the superathlete received during her time on stage. The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is an award granted to those whose actions have “transcended sports,” according to ESPN. ESPN said in a statement that Caitlyn Jenner was chosen as the 2015 honoree for the “courage to embrace a truth that had been hidden for years.”

Caitlyn Jenner’s speech was not without its humor, though; she acknowledged that she hadn’t fully appreciated the preparatory work that girls had to go through to get ready for any big event. She said that the process of getting ready for the ESPYs was “exhausting” and quipped, “Girls, I get it.”

There was some initial backlash at ESPN’s decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner with the award, though. Many thought that 19-year-old basketball player Lauren Hill, who died in April of cancer, should have been honored for her fundraising efforts. The teen raised $1.5 million in her cancer fighting efforts. Her mother Lisa quickly shot down any rumored belief that the family was behind the backlash, noting that her daughter “respected (people from) all walks of life and people who were different. She would have never been judgmental or harsh or anything like that. That’s just not who she was.”

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)