Caitlyn Jenner beats Obama’s Twitter record by gaining 1m followers in 4 hours
Out trans former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner has broken a new record, having gained a million Twitter followers quicker than the US President.
The step-parent to the Kardashians, formerly known as Bruce, Caitlyn Jenner revealed her new name as she appeared on the latest cover of Vanity Fair.
After joining Twitter and revealing her new name, Caitlyn beat the record previously held by Barack Obama.
Obama gained a million Twitter followers within five hours of joining Twitter about two weeks ago. Jenner did the same in just under four.
She now has 1.88 million followers, and wrote on Twitter: “Another Jenner world record, and at 65? Who’da thought! Humbled and honored to have reached 1M followers in 4 hrs. Thank you for your support.”
In a previous tweet she wrote: “I’m so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can’t wait for you to get to know her/me.
Guinness World Records also tweeted that Jenner had broken the record, saying: “4 hrs and 3 mins! @Caitlyn_Jenner just set a new record for fastest time to reach 1 million followers on @Twitter“.
Jenner, Olympic gold medal winner and reality TV star recently came out as trans in an interview with Diane Sawyer.
Revealing that her name is now Caitlyn, Jenner has now appeared a shoot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine, shot at her Malibu home.
Jenner has also been profiled by Pulitzer Prize-winning contributing editor Buzz Bissinger.
Speaking to Bissinger, Jenner said: “If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, ‘You just blew your entire life.’”
Ellen tweeted her support at the time, saying Jenner was a “beautiful, brave human being”.
Actress Linda Thompson, who was married to Jenner for five years in the 1980s, wrote a column for The Huffington Post in which she discusses her feelings on the transition.