NEW YORK (AP) – The first on-air promo for Friday’s broadcast interview with Bruce Jenner didn’t even show his face, an illustration of the line ABC News is walking in trying to drum up interest for the program while saying virtually nothing about it.
The two-hour interview special with the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion and estranged patriarch of television’s Kardashian clan is expected to touch on transgenderism and reports that he may be transitioning to a woman.
ABC has released only a couple of non-specific quotes by Jenner and is not expected to reveal much more in advance of Friday’s programme, preferring to give him the opportunity to address the topic in the full context of the interview.
Diane Sawyer has not spoken to outside media about the interview, which was conducted in February – one day in Los Angeles, another in New York. She’s scheduled to promote it on ABC properties Friday: Good Morning America, Live with Kelly and Michael and The View. ABC News executives also haven’t spoken about it, not even confirming publicly until April 6 that the interview had taken place, until this Friday’s airdate was set.
“In producing this special, one of our goals has been to respect Bruce’s story,” said ABC News spokesman Van Scott. “We want Bruce to speak for Bruce. We’ve had this top of mind throughout the process from the booking and interviews to the promotion and final product.”
The tight lid enables ABC to avoid the touchy issue of potentially “outing” a public figure before the person has had a chance to publicly address the topic himself. Not everyone is waiting: The New York Daily News on Wednesday published a front-page picture of a person they said was Jenner wearing a dress.
The interview was conducted before Jenner was involved in an auto accident in which another motorist was killed. ABC is expected to address the topic, although the timing precludes it from being raised with Jenner.
Some of Jenner’s children, pictured in one of the promos, are also expected to be interviewed.
