Caitlyn Jenner hit the golf course with “Today” anchor Matt Lauer to respond to criticism she received for being honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS earlier this year, and opened up about the Malibu car accident that could land her in jail.
“I didn’t ask for it. They gave me the award,” Jenner told Lauer on the first part of the interview that aired Wednesday morning. “Did it take a lot of courage to come out? Absolutely. Do I have tremendous respect for Arthur Ashe and that award? Absolutely. And I’m very honored to have that awarded to me. Not just to me, but to this entire community, so I’m very pleased with how it turned out.”
Lauer then turned his attention to the multi-vehicle car crash that leaves a possible manslaughter charge looming over Jenner’s head after a woman died as a result of the February collision.
“What do you remember about the accident?” he asked.
“Very little. I remember it happening. That’s about it,” Jenner said. “Obviously something I’m in litigation, I can’t really talk about it. Something like this, a tragedy like this, you’ll never get over it, you just learn to live with it the best you can.”
Footage of the collision was released in July, and appeared to show Jenner’s Cadillac Escalade hitting victim Kimberly Howe’s Lexus as well as a Prius driven by Jessica Steindorff. Howe’s vehicle crossed into opposing traffic, where it collided with a Hummer.
Jenner, who was not injured, passed a field sobriety test and provided a blood sample for drug and alcohol testing. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has completed its investigation and handed it over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The former Olympian, who came out as a transgender woman earlier this year in an emotional interview with Diane Sawyer, maintained she was not driving recklessly, and cited the trailer she was towing as a factor in the crash.
“I was under the speed limit. I was doing 46 in a 50. My airbag didn’t even go off,” Jenner said.
Detectives who worked the case previously told TheWrap there is a “50/50 chance” that Jenner will be charged. According to attorney Marvin Putnam, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP, “a transgender person who has not made the transition physically will be assigned to the prison of their genetic birth gender.”
For Jenner and the rest of the transgender community, that’s a big problem.
“The media wants that picture don’t they?” Jenner said when Lauer brought up the possibility of her serving a year in a men’s jail. “That is the worst case scenario. I don’t know. We’ll see. The men’s county jail is an enormous problem that they would put trans women in a men’s county jail. But those are things we’re looking in to.”
Watch the video below.