Brody Jenner didn’t see much of his father Bruce Jenner while growing up, but now the 29-year-old reality television star is trying to mend the relationship — on national television.
On the June 9 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians , Brody Jenner goes out to lunch with his brother Brandon and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie. As he tries to repair his relationship with his siblings, Brody also confronts his dad for his lack of attention during Brody’s youth.
“It’s interesting to watch how you are with the girls,” says Brody, whose grew up with his mother, pageant queen Linda Thompson, after she split from Bruce. “Because it’s like, something I’m not really used to. You weren’t around since I was a kid and it’s like . . . ”
Bruce Jenner then interrupted his son and said, “Now’s not the time to talk about it.”
Brody Jenner later confessed that it is difficult to see the caring side of his father.
“The way I see Bruce with Kendall and Kylie and Brandon, I’m actually so happy for them,” Brody says in a confessional. “I think Bruce is an incredible human being and I think that Bruce is an incredible father. He just wasn’t a great father to me.”
After watching the clip, Thompson said she was proud of Brody.
“I commend Brody’s honesty,” she tweeted June 6, though the tweet was later taken off her feed. “There is too much hypocrisy in this world.”
It’s entirely possible that Brody Jenner’s confrontation with his father was a made-for-television moment. Its an unspoken truth that reality shows like those in the Kardashian empire are staged, if not entirely scripted, so any real discussion about father-son relationships would likely take place off camera.
Few would understand the dynamic of reality shows better than Brody Jenner. He made a name for himself as one of the pioneers of the modern reality show , as he created, produced, and starred in the Fox show The Princes of Malibu . Though the show didn’t last long, it helped usher in an era where the young, rich, and decadent could find an eager audience.
Brody Jenner would go on to appear on The Hills and other MTV reality shows that followed the same pattern to success.
Do you think the confrontation between Brody Jenner and his dad Bruce Jenner was for real?
