Caitlyn Jenner revealed new identity and new Twitter handle Monday morning and promptly shattered President Barack Obama’s Twitter record for reaching 1 million followers fastest.
Obama, who launched the @POTUS handle, associated with the presidential office, on May 18 reached one million followers in under five hours. Jenner hit the magic number in just over 4 hours, a record confirmed by Guinness shortly thereafter.
The launch of the verified account, @Caitlyn_Jenner, was orchestrated with the release of July’s Vanity Fair cover featuring the first photos of Jenner as a woman shot by famed Hollywood photographer Annie Lebovitz.
Jenner’s second tweet welcomed her new identity: “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.”
Within the first hour, Jenner had gained 284,000 followers and become a trending topic. She followed up later in the day with a tweet thanking followers for their support. “Humbled & honored to have reached 1M followers in 4 hrs.”
It takes courage to share your story. https://t.co/Q7wWjV9Rxx
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2015
Another Jenner world record, and at 65? Who’da thought! Humbled & honored to have reached 1M followers in 4 hrs. Thank you for your support.
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) June 1, 2015
At the time of this publish, Jenner was not following any other Twitter accounts. Along with her Twitter account, Jenner debuted a verified Facebook page and Instagram account. She shared similar messaging across all social media platforms.
Everybody has challenges in dealing with life. I’m so happy after such a long struggle and finally living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. It feels so good. Can’t wait for you to get to know her/me. A photo posted by Caitlyn Jenner (@caitlynjenner) on