Hunter Schafer's Elle interview

Pop culture · Heat 1.2 / 10 · 2 shows · 22m airtime

In an Elle interview published October 21, Hunter Schafer said she had gender-affirming bottom surgery in December and began transitioning at age 14. The interview ran while she was promoting Blade Runner 2099. The discussion criticizes the transition and the Elle framing, covers Riley Gaines's response and a new UK bathroom law, and compares Schafer to Kim Petras and other trans models.

How 2 podcasts covered it

1. The TMZ Podcast, 2026-10-19 (1:57 to 6:35)
   Recaps the Elle interview's disclosures
   Recaps the Elle interview - the surgery, the painful recovery, the timing question - and wanders into her relationship with Dominic Fike and her upcoming vampire film. Stays inside the interview's own disclosures.
2. Pop Culture Crisis, 2026-10-21 (1:02:27 to 1:19:53)
   Takes up Schafer's Elle interview and the response
   Takes up Hunter Schafer's Elle interview: the December bottom surgery, transitioning at 14, and her role as the youngest plaintiff against North Carolina's bathroom bill. The hosts criticize the transition and the magazine's framing, then work through Riley Gaines's response and a new UK bathroom law.
   New angle: Hunter Schafer said in Elle she had gender-affirming bottom surgery in December and began transitioning at 14.