Transgender Model Munroe Bergdorf Shares Her Journey from Cancellation to Comeback in New Documentary 'Love & Rage' (Exclusive)
Per a synopsis, the film "sparks a universal conversation on identity, feminism, race and hope"
Bergdorf made headlines in 2017 when she was fired from her role as a L'Oréal Paris spokesmodel, after making history as the first transgender model to front a U.K. campaign for the brandMunroe Bergdorf is ready to tell her story.
In a new documentary Love & Rage, the trailblazing transgender model looks back on her life and career journey, including her highly publicized firing from her spokesmodel role at L'Oréal Paris in 2017 (the company ultimately rehired her three years later).
Per a synopsis, the film "explores her journey, activism, and the balance between personal needs and public responsibility. Through Munroe's story, the film sparks a universal conversation on identity, feminism, race, and hope."
In an exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE, Bergdorf is seen celebrating her 36th birthday surrounded by friends. "There's always been a voice inside of me that was unsure whether or not I'd make it past 35," she says in a voiceover. "So to be 36 is exciting because I've got so much to look forward to and be grateful for."
"I don't think that many trans people, let alone many Black trans people, really get to tell our stories whilst we're alive on our own terms, and show the 360-experience of what it means to be a trans person in today's society — what it means to be a trans woman, a queer woman, a black woman, all of the parts of who we are," Munroe tells PEOPLE.
She continues, "We're in a very unique time in history where the assault on trans lives and trans rights and healthcare are being ramped up and being used as a wedge issue to attack all of our rights, so it is a really pertinent moment to tell my story but also it's not just my story. It's about all of us, about what it means to be human and not existing in a constant state of struggle and survival, and about what happens when we prioritize love and fight for that love."
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From struggling with identity in childhood to grappling with public scrutiny as a transgender activist, Love & Rage allows Bergdorf to reflect on her personal journey.
"She got me to where I am today," she says of her past self. "Every single decision that she made got me to this moment. Sometimes I think there could have been a smoother way here, but at the same time I've learned so much from the negative experiences as much as the positive ones and turned the negative into the positive."
Bergdorf continues, "I wish I could go back and say, 'I'm proud of you and thank you.' Even when some of the moments I navigated were difficult, and I wish there weren't as painful, they're all for something."
In 2017, Bergdorf was named the face of a L'Oréal Paris' U.K. campaign, making history as the brand's first transgender model. However, she was fired shortly after when she wrote a Facebook post denouncing racism after a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one person dead. According to NBC news, Bergdorf said in her post, which has since been taken down, that white people must "admit their race is the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth."
L'Oréal Paris said in a statement at the time that they were terminating the brand's partnership with her because Bergdorf's comments were "at odds" with its mission to support "diversity and tolerance towards all people irrespective of their race, background, gender and religion."
Then in 2020, the model called the company's Black Lives Matter Instagram post hypocritical and a form of "gaslighting." After Bergdorf called out L'Oreal Paris, the company announced they were forming a U.K. Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board, which Bergdorf was appointed to."Munroe felt silenced by a brand, L'Oréal Paris, that had the power to amplify her voice," Delphine Viguier, president of L'Oreal Paris, said in a statement, via NBC news. "While we both agree today that negative labels should not be used to define all individuals in any group, I understand much better the pain and trauma that were behind Munroe's words back then and the urgency she felt to speak in defense of the Black community against systemic racism."
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With this documentary, the model is "hoping that fellow trans people feel seen."
"I'm hoping that queer people feel galvanized and inspired to fight for their siblings," she adds. "I'm hoping that straight people see it and are enraged and understand the moment more. I'm hoping cis-gender people think a little bit about what they can do in order to provide safety, security, opportunity, for a community that desperately needs it. "
Love & Rage will be available to stream on July 15.
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