My next guest at just 20 years old
was traveling the world, hanging out with celebrities,
and on her way to becoming the next supermodel.
Carissa has been featured in campaigns of major brands
like Coach, Marc Jacobs, and Rihanna's lingerie.
But she recently found herself in a PR nightmare
that ended in a big loss for her career.
Here's what happened.
A few months ago, I was in Japan,
I was shooting for clients,
I felt isolated, I felt alone,
and I happened to come across a story
about a transgender woman who was brutally murdered.
Here name was Muhlaysia Booker.
I felt I needed to shed light on the situation.
The first post that really got me in trouble
was shen I stated
"Being transgender does not make you a woman.
It simply makes you transgender."
I was looking for attention when I first made the post.
It was selfish.
I was definitely sleep deprived,
I was in a moldy room,
and the side effects from the mold are nausea,
depression, anxiety.
The moldy room definitely played a part in the post.
A lot of famous people re-posted this,
and it just started to spiral out of my control.
People started calling me transphobic.
My agent sent me home from Japan
about three days after I made the post.
After being home for about two weeks,
my agency told me that it was best that we just move on.
People were just shunning me.
I even tried to sign with another agency,
and they told me now's not the best time.
And I panicked.
I made a second post that got me into way more trouble.
I did it because I took some really bad advice.
"I wasn't ready to come out about it yet.
So I'm being forced to tell the truth.
I'm transgender."
I did it out of spite, because I was upset
that certain transgender people called in to my agency
and got me fired.
A week after I had posted that I was trans,
I then posted that I lied about being trans.
The hate got significantly worse.
The first post doesn't bother me,
because I knew my real intentions behind it.
I regret my second post the most,
because I lied about being something that I'm not.
Okay, why did you sit down and type what you typed
to begin with, the first post?
I was just going through a lot of mixed emotions.
After reading a post about Muhlaysia Booker,
a transgender woman who was just brutally murdered.
And I felt as though I needed to create a dialogue
about it in any way that I could.
And I just didn't express it correctly.
Okay, well here's your post.
This was on May 23rd, you said,
"Being transgender does not make you a woman.
It makes you simply transgender."
Correct.
I just wanted to start a dialogue.
I just didn't know the consequences
would be so detrimental and devastating to my career.
Do you understand the concept of gender identity?
I believe so.
Gender identity is really one's internal,
deeply held beliefs
about who they are.
So, if someone is assigned as a male at birth,
but their deeply held beliefs,
their enduring, deeply held beliefs
are that of a female,
then they would be referred to as a transgender woman.
If you believe internally that you are a woman,
then who am I to say or judge and tell you that you're not?
Good point!
Which is why your tweet would be offensive
to the sensibilities of those who feel
at the absolute core of their soul
that they are in fact a woman,
they are in fact female.
I realize now, I really do realize now
that I could have come across way more kind.
It was just very insensitive during such a sensitive time.