In a frightening time for transgender Americans, it’s important to remember there are great activists and allies out there — some of them at high levels of show business.
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The Kelly Clarkson Show has been spotlighting the trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming community for Transgender Awareness Week. Don’t worry if you haven’t caught all the episodes; segments are available on the show’s YouTube channel, and full episodes are available to stream on Peacock, typically the day after the episode airs.
And the show wouldn’t happen without the help of senior producer Caragh Donley, who came out as a trans woman a year ago and found a welcoming atmosphere there.
“I stayed closeted for decades partially out of the fear that people who knew me wouldn’t accept me post-transition,” Donley tells The Advocate. “However, I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction from everyone here. Kelly was so gracious when I told her, letting me know without missing a beat that what counts is who I am inside. Which was the nicest thing anyone has told me throughout all this.”
“Meanwhile, [executive producer] Alex Duda and the staff here were instantly accepting to a degree that seems like a dream,” she continues. “Everyone instantly got my pronouns. They never hesitated in calling me Caragh. Life carried on exactly as it had before, and I couldn’t be happier than I am with Kelly and all my coworkers. I wish this for every trans person.” Donley shared her story on the show in November 2023, appearing alongside trans actress Laverne Cox.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Donley’s job is producing celebrity segments. That involves “talking to the guests before they get here to figure out talking points, then making sure Kelly knows the interesting areas, finally briefing the guests when they arrive,” she says.
Donley has been with Clarkson’s show since the first episode. She brought an impressive résumé to the program. She spent decades in print journalism, working for publications including People, The Seattle Times, and TV Guide, where she was executive editor. She has contributed to The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, The Boston Globe, and others. Then she became a producer for talk shows, with programs hosted by Martin Short, Craig Kilborn, Queen Latifah, and now Clarkson. She also wrote and produced episodes of VH1’s Behind the Music.
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She chose the name “Caragh” because it means “beloved” or “friend” in Gaelic. “I once many years ago saw the name ‘Caragh’ on a press release and fell in love with it,” she says. “’Donley’ was my birth dad’s name. Together, they sound very Irish. Which I’ve wanted since discovering that my birth father was Irish.” He died before she was born.
Clarkson’s support of LGBTQ+ people has been evident many times on her show, and her support of trans people in particular is evident not only in her relationship with Donley but also in the segments she has featured for Transgender Awareness Week.
Perry Cohen of the Venture Out ProjectWeiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal
Last Wednesday, as the observance began and it was World Kindness Day as well, Clarkson showed a heartwarming video of a trans woman coming out and receiving unqualified acceptance and unconditional love from her great-grandmother. This Monday, Perry Cohen, the trans man who founded the Venture Out Project, which organizes backpacking and wilderness trips for the queer and trans community, appeared for her “Rad Human” segment, and the GenderCool Project (recent Advocate cover stars), dedicated to bringing positive stories of trans, nonbinary, and other gender-nonconforming youth to the world, was spotlighted in her “What I’m Liking” feature. Tuesday’s episode will be devoted to the very LGBTQ-inclusive film of Wicked. Clarkson’s show is syndicated, so check your local listings for times and stations, and there are the aforementioned YouTube and streaming options — plus these clips below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Donley has some advice for trans people wondering about coming out. She would have loved to transition in her teens or 20s, but she knew she wouldn’t have been accepted then. “I was too afraid what people would think and not at all concerned about what I would feel by not transitioning,” she says. “The first person I came out to was Kelly’s hairstylist, Robert Ramos, and he explained that he wasn’t surprised at all. People were just waiting on me to finally tell them. So my advice to anyone who is trans but is keeping it hidden, find that one person who knows you and cares for you. Tell them. They will be supportive. People are better than we give them credit for. And once you tell someone, the good feeling that brings will snowball.”
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
On Monday, The Kelly Clarkson Show featured the GenderCool Project, a trans-youth-led group working to support transgender minors. The Advocate featured the group on its most recent print cover.
Check out representatives of the group breaking down stereotypes below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
