The widower of a hero female cop who died in 9/11 has returned his wife’s Woman of the Year award after Glamour magazine gave the same honor to Caitlyn Jenner.
NYPD police officer Moira Smith was posthumously given the award in 2001 after she was killed helping to evacuate people out of Tower Two – saving scores of lives.
But her husband James, 53, was left furious after Glamour revealed last week that it was giving the award to transgender Jenner.
Mr Smith has now FedExed the 2001 Woman of Year Award back to the magazine with a scathing letter denouncing Glamour’s decision as ‘insulting’ to the memory of his wife.
The retired officer said he’d originally been ‘honored’ to accept the award for his wife just a month after her death in 2001. He claimed awarding the Kardashian reality show star – who was formerly known as Bruce – 14 years later was a ‘slap in the face to the memory of our hero’.
‘I was shocked and saddened to learn that Glamour has just named Bruce Jenner “Woman of the Year”,’ Smith wrote.
‘I find it insulting to Moira Smith’s memory, and the memory of other heroic women who have earned this award.
‘Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man?
‘At a time when we have women in the armed forces fighting and dying for our country, heroic doctors fighting deadly diseases, women police officers and firefighters putting their lives on the line for total strangers, brave women overcoming life threatening diseases. Is this the best you could do?’
Former Olympic track star Jenner, star of E!’s docu-series I Am Cait, received the Transgender Champion award at Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year celebration in New York last week.
During her acceptance speech she thanked her supportive family and talked about the confusion and struggle she had felt about her gender.
‘I’ve had many, many, many years of isolation of hiding from the world, lying to the world, of not being myself,’ said the 66-year-old.
She also quoted French activist and writer, Simone de Beauvoir who said: ‘You are not born woman. You become one’ – ‘Words I live by,’ Jenner added.
Below is the letter James J. Smith wrote to Glamour Magazine :
Dear Ms. Leive,
On October 29th, 2001 I was honored to accept the Glamour magazine ‘Woman of the Year Award’ posthumously given to my wife, Police Officer Moira Smith.
Moira was killed on September 11th, 2001 while rescuing thousands from the World Trade Center. EMT Yamel Merino was also posthumously honored that evening for her heroism.
I was shocked and saddened to learn that Glamour has just named Bruce Jenner ‘Woman of the Year.’ I find it insulting to Moira Smith’s memory, and the memory of other heroic women who have earned this award.
Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man?
At a time when we have women in the armed forces fighting and dying for our country, heroic doctors fighting deadly diseases, women police officers and firefighters putting their lives on the line for total strangers, brave women overcoming life threatening diseases… The list of possibilities goes on…
Is this the best you could do?
I can only guess that this was a publicity stunt meant to resuscitate a dying medium. After discussing this slap in the face to the memory of our Hero with my family, I have decided to return Moira’s award to Glamour magazine.
Sincerely
James J Smith.
