Caitlyn Jenner was slated to be honored by a community health organization this weekend but the award was rescinded in the wake of a Change.org petition claiming it would "dishonor the LGBTQ community."

St. John’s Well Child and Family Center—which provides free and low-cost medical, dental and mental health services in the greater Los Angeles area—was to honor Jenner at the Eleganza Ball, part of this weekend's TransNation Festival.

But Ashlee Marie Preston and other trans activists resented what they considered Jenner's pocketbook altruism, and her aligning herself with Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

"Caitlyn has become the Christopher Columbus of trans identity in that she sailed over into the community and attempted to take complete credit and ownership of our movement," Preston wrote in an Advocate op-ed. "She can't lead our movement when she's never taken one step in our shoes or experienced the discrimination we have mounted on our backs thanks to her political pen pals in the White House."

Preston called Jenner's nonprofit, the Caitlyn Jenner Foundation, "humanitarian fraud in the highest form."

"This isn't about organizations taking money from Caitlyn Jenner (although I personally don't recommend it)," she added. "Our petition is about rescinding her self-congratulatory award and not rubbing our faces in the fact that she can force her way into power while holding us and our narrative hostage."

Preston indicated she and others intended to disrupt Saturday's event from the inside, while protesting outside—a threat that may have had as much to do with withdrawing Jenner's honor as the petition, which received some 2,300 signatures. (In August Preston confronted Jenner at an event.)

A spokesperson for St. John's said the organization's focus has always been on its patients, including trans clients.

"But, in today’s political climate, we realize that it is increasingly difficult to separate the two– especially because transgender lives are at risk every day under this new administration. This reality has renewed our commitment to work to create positive change and bring members of our community together to heal. That begins with listening to our brothers and sisters.”

In a statement, Jenner said she chose to decline the award because her presence was "distracting from the real purpose of the event."

I had the honor of sitting with the staff of St. John’s Trans Health Program. With open hearts, everyone around the table shared their thoughts and feelings about the times that we’re in, and what we could do to heal the pain of our community together.

In this spirit of unity and love, I’m going to decline the award they so graciously offered me for supporting their mission. I understand that my presence is distracting from the real purpose of the event, which is to celebrate the important and life-saving work of St. John’s. I will continue my commitment to helping marginalized communities through my foundation.

Trans people understand what it’s like to be judged for who we are, and defined by a world that doesn’t understand us, so let’s present a united front in support of St. John’s Trans Health Program.

I am with you, and I am here to help.

Sincerely,

Caitlyn

Below is the full version of St. John's statement:

We deeply regret that our actions have hurt and divided the transgender community. That was not our intention. Our mission has always been to uplift and move our community forward. We originally decided to honor Caitlyn Jenner, due to her support of our Transgender Health Program, when few others were stepping up. However, we hear the concerns of local activists, and we take them very seriously. Therefore, Caitlyn will not be receiving an award at the Eleganza Ball or attending the event.

For us, it has always been about the patients who we serve. We have managed to focus on the human impact over politics. But, in today’s political climate, we realize that it is increasingly difficult to separate the two-- especially because transgender lives are at risk every day under this new administration. This reality has renewed our commitment to work to create positive change and bring members of our community together to heal. That begins with listening to our brothers and sisters.

As one of the largest transgender health programs in the country, we serve over 2,000 transgender patients, primarily trans People of Color and undocumented individuals. We provide primary medical care, hormone therapy, dental and mental health support free of charge. St. John’s has always moved forward with patients at the forefront of what we do and how we respond.

We remain committed to our mission to eliminate health disparities and foster social justice and community well-being by providing and promoting the highest quality care in South Los Angeles.

Let us not give up on each other. We welcome continued dialogue and need your help as we move forward. We will continue to work to expand the Transgender Health Program and allocate resources to advance the love and empowerment of the transgender community.

All of us at the Transgender Health Program look forward to seeing you at the Eleganza Ball, to celebrate transgender visibility and our shared history.