Adam Rippon (photo credit: Peter Yang) By now, we all know Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon is witty, smart, inspirational, and utterly sassy. As the oldest rookie to qualify for the Olympics at 28-years-old, and the first openly gay American figure skater to compete at the Olympics, his path to success has been groundbreaking, although it hasn’t been without setbacks. In his new memoir, Beautiful On The Outside, Rippon hilariously reveals what it’s like to be an elite figure skater – from the glitz of sequined costumes to the unglamorous act of cleaning bugs off the ice at a competition, and all the failure and quad lutz practice (the hardest quad jump to land in competition) that led him to a spot on the Olympic team in Pyeongchang. Your mom probably told you it’s what on the inside that counts. Well, then she was never a competitive figure skater. Rippon has been making it pretty for the judges even when, just below the surface, everything was an absolute mess. Traveling to practices on a Greyhound bus next to ex-convicts, being so poor he could only afford to eat the free apples at his gym, Rippon got through the toughest times with a smile on his face, a glint in his eye, and quip ready for anyone listening. Beautiful On The Outside looks at his journey from a homeschooled kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to a self-professed American sweetheart on the world stage and all the disasters and self-delusions it took to get him there. Sure, it may be what’s on the inside that counts, but life is so much better when it’s beautiful on the outside. I recently chatted one-on-one with the Dancing with the Stars champion about his new memoir, the journey taken and what’s next for the sassy world-class athlete. You can listen to the full chat with Adam below:
Here’s some highlights from my chat with Adam: The Randy Report: First of all, congratulations on the memoir. It reads just liketheAdamRippon America has grown to love. Adam Rippon: Thank you. It was so important to me that it felt more like a conversation I would have with someone rather than at someone. TRR: When I first started reading I was not prepared for how much of your humor would be in this. Every page…good for you for capturing that aspect of you. AR: Honestly, it’s still surreal to speak to people who have read the book because it’s been this project I’ve been working on for a long time. It was important to me that it was something funny. I feel this book has been an opportunity for me to speak about a chapter of my life as I move into the next chapter. TRR: Early in the book you write that you loved looking back at crushes on girls when you were young, and you saw it as an early form of ‘diva worship,’ which I totally get as a gay man because I loved girls too. What a great way to put that. AR: I think that like when you don’t know what’s going on in your body and how you actually feel that when I look back, the girls that I honestly felt like I was really attracted to, it was they had these really, these personalities that I admired, and these are the attributes that I thought were so great. I so badly did not want to be gay, but I tried so hard to associate these feelings of admiration with love. And looking back, I truly did have feelings for the girls that I was with. But – like the first time I was ever with a boy, I was like…”Oh.” TRR: Yeah… AR: It felt so different that I was like, “Oh no, I’m done.” Like I figured it out. What was I thinking before? TRR: Later, you write that you didn’t have sex with girls sometimes because you thought you were being the ‘good guy. I think there are a lot of gay men who will read that, and feel they did the exact same thing. AR: I just remember that feeling of not doing anything because, like, ‘I’m one of the good guys,’ you know? Then you learn. You’re like, ‘Oh no…’ TRR: And nature kicks in… AR: It’s like this isn’t for you, and you’ll figure out why in a little bit. And then, it hits you over the head like a bag of rocks.
TRR: Let’s talk about skating because the chapter chronicling the 2015 Nationals beautifully captures you finding and bringing your A-game. AR: Thank you. To be honest, I had such a great team help me write this book because I would describe myself more as a storyteller than a writer. And so, a lot of people worked with me to put it together. It was important for me to share that story in particular because, at 2015 nationals, I skated these two great programs. In the first one, there was this sort of feeling that I was a little bit shafted. And the next one was the long program where I get this amazing score and I felt like everything was coming together. I had just left this boyfriend that was a nightmare, and it was like, “Oh my God, in this moment, everything’s coming together.” And then the last skater goes out – they win, I’m second. And I’m like come on really? But then I realized that was such a non-issue because I was so proud and happy about everything I had done. And then, when I could take a step back, I was actually really excited and proud of the boy that had won because he had a lot of pressure on him to skate well, and I realized that the placement really had nothing to do with it, or like the award had nothing to do with your self-worth. And once I was able to like disassociate the two, I felt that it was such a life-defining moment because I was able to focus more on myself than I was on anything else going on.
TRR: And then you get to the Olympics. Finally. And you share that you wanted to show the world you had more than ‘sass’ to offer. You had overcome a LOT, and you’re in such a good headspace at that point. As the reader, I feel like we’re really there with you. AR: It was like this hyper-focused period of my life where I was so in control of what I was doing, and I was so in the present moment. That was really a culmination of everything I had gone through, and how I had learned to be there, I’d learned to separate the media aspect of a competition from the competition part. And it was like I was giving myself this masterclass of mastering how to juggle two things at once. I was so in the moment, and I felt so how powerful. Looking back, I’m like, “Holy shit, I don’t really know how I did that!” But I think all of the ups and downs I went through prepared me for it. TRR: You also share a bit on how you and fellow out Olympian Gus Kenworthy came to be virtual friends prior to the Games, and then you met at the opening ceremonies and entered together. AR: It felt like a moment that was not just for me; it felt like a moment that was for my younger self and for other people to see who might be gay but think that they would never share it with someone else. And here I am standing with someone from a different sport, from a different part of the U.S., different corners of the sporting world. So different. And here we are walking in as like friends, and we’re representing the (LGBTQ) community as we’ve gone through these different journeys at the same time. I can look at him and he can look at me and we were like, “I get it.” And that’s why it was so powerful. I walked away from the Games with Gus being somebody who, in that moment, our whole lives kind of changed together. I really feel we are linked together because of a moment like that.
TRR: Speaking of post-Olympics, there’s a great quote from you near the end of the book as you’re performing in Stars On Ice and competing at the same time on Dancing with the Stars (which you won, btw). And you’re exhausted. But you stop and get down to the realness telling yourself, “I earned being this tired, I did not earn getting bitter.” What a great moment of self-awareness. AR: I was doing all of those interviews, a lot of press, I was touring, doing Dancing with the Stars, and I was sleeping two or three hours a night. And working to be ‘on’ so that I could give everybody my best self, and be physically and mentally there. And it was really, really challenging. I remember thinking to myself, there is probably not going to be another time in your life where you have two huge projects going on at the same time and they’re organized down to the minute so that you can get a nap every night. You’re allowed to, you know, have those ups and downs emotionally, and it’s emotional what you’re doing. But – be really grateful. Because think of where you were a year ago; think of where you were five years ago. You would have killed to be in the shoes of the person you are right now. I reminded myself that the way that you feel this exhaustion is what you would have done anything to feel. You can’t look at it and be in this moment now and think, “But I didn’t know any better!” You knew this is what it is, this is what comes with it. Accept it and enjoy it.
TRR: Thank you for the chat, Adam. You are truly America’s sweetheart. AR: Thank you so much. You have a great day. Thank you. In addition to releasing Beautiful On The Outside (available now online and at book stores), Rippon shares that he will be hosting a new daily show on Quibi, the upcoming short-form mobile TV streaming service set to launch in the spring of 2020. On This Day In Useless Celebrity History, Rippon will take viewers on a ride down memory lane, revisiting the wildest and most outrageous events in celebrity history that might have been forgotten, but shouldn’t have. Make sure to catch up with Adam on his book tour beginning today in New York City and heading out across the country from there.
L-R Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani (screen captures) It appears Rudy Giuliani worked for Donald Trump for free but received $500k of unknown funds from foreign actors, who are under arrest. And, was exempt from conflict of interest laws because he wasn’t made a special govt employee despite involvement in coordinating Trump’s meeting with Zelensky? From Reuters:
President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was paid $500,000 for work he did for a company co-founded by the Ukrainian-American businessman arrested last week on campaign finance charges, Giuliani told Reuters on Monday.
The businessman, Lev Parnas, is a close associate of Giuliani and was involved in his effort to investigate Trump’s political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic Party nomination.
Giuliani said Parnas’ company, Boca Raton-based Fraud Guarantee, whose website says it aims to help clients “reduce and mitigate fraud”, engaged Giuliani Partners, a management and security consulting firm, around August 2018. Giuliani said he was hired to consult on Fraud Guarantee’s technologies and provide legal advice on regulatory issues.
Federal prosecutors are “examining Giuliani’s interactions” with Parnas and another Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman, who was also indicted on campaign finance charges, a law enforcement source told Reuters on Sunday.
The New York Times reported last week that Parnas had told associates he paid Giuliani hundreds of thousands of dollars for what Giuliani said was business and legal advice. Giuliani said for the first time on Monday that the total amount was $500,000.
Michael and I getting our Pride on at Las Vegas Pride this year Some news items you might have missed: • Pride: We do LGBTQ Pride later in the year here in Las Vegas because June, the traditional month for Pride, is swelteringly hot. That’s Michael and I (above) briefly striking a pose. Check out more from Las Vegas Pride 2019 at the bottom of this post via Instagram. • Boy Culture: Scotty Bowers, the purported pimp and hustler to a slew of Golden Age of Hollywood stars, praised by some for his frankness and bashed by others as a fabulist, died Sunday at 96. • Politico: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is increasing pressure on Facebook to police false political ads on the social media platform. Her campaign made an ad with false claims and it was quickly approved.
We intentionally made a Facebook ad with false claims and submitted it to Facebook’s ad platform to see if it’d be approved. It got approved quickly and the ad is now running on Facebook. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/7NQyThWHgO
• Unilad: This gay couple from Argentina adopted a baby living with HIV that was rejected by ten other families. • Instagram: Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland (currently starring together in Spiderman: Far From Home) almost broke the internet when jokingly posting, “Forget the Biebers… We’re getting married.”
• Deadline: Billy Porter on trying to break into Hollywood, “We must speak life into ourselves, even when everyone around us is doing the opposite. I never saw anything that looked like me, and visibility – when we see ourselves reflected back – is so important.” And now, more shiny, happy people (including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Chasten Buttigieg) at this year’s Pride celebration here in Las Vegas:
(screen capture via ABC News) A 28-year-old black woman was shot and killed in the presence of her 8-year-old nephew by a white police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday during what should have been a routine ‘welfare check.’ A neighbor had called the non-emergency police hotline after noticing Atatiana Jefferson’s front door was open around 2 am in the morning. He did not indicate he suspected any foul play or dangerous activites. He merely asked the police to check on his neighbor. Body-cam video shows the officer saw someone through a window in the home, then yelled, “Put your hands up, show me your hands.” He then fired a single shot at the woman less than a second later. The officer never identified himself as a police officer. From ABC News:
Relatives of the woman who was fatally shot identified her as Atatiana Jefferson, and said she worked as a human resources officer for a Fort Worth company and that she lived in the home with an 8-year-old nephew, Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA reported. During a news conference on Sunday afternoon, Fort Worth Police Lt. Brandon O’Neil said the officer who opened fire on Jefferson never identified himself as a police officer. “What the officer observed and why he did not announce ‘police’ will be addressed as the investigation continues,” O’Neil said.
JUST IN: Officer involved in fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson in her home has resigned, chief says, and still faces potential criminal charges.
A new study released last week by the University of California, Los Angeles’ Williams Institute shows 21% of LGBTQ adults aren’t registered to vote compared to an estimated 17% of non-LGBTQ adults. A 2019 national Williams Institute and Reuters/Ipsos poll showed there are nearly nine million LGBTQ adults are registered and eligible to vote in the 2020 general election. Half of registered LGBTQ voters (50%) are Democrats, 15% are Republicans, 22% are Independents, and 13% said they identify with another party or did not know with which party they most identify. While the current crop of Democratic presidential contenders support The Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing civil rights laws, if we don’t get LGBTQ citizens out to vote, the legislation will never become law.
Screen capture from viral video showing a fake Donald Trump violently attacking the media This video – depicting a violent scene of a fake President Trump shooting, stabbing & assaulting members of the news media & his political opponents – was shown at a conference for his supporters at his Miami resort. From the New York Times:
Mr. Trump stops in the middle of the church, pulls a gun out of his suit jacket pocket and begins a graphic rampage. As the parishioners try to flee, the president fires at them. He shoots Black Lives Matter in the head and also shoots Vice News.
Some of those in the church try to apprehend Mr. Trump. He fends them off and makes his way toward the altar, knocking over several pews. He wrestles a parishioner with a Vice News logo as a face to the ground and then shoots the person at point-blank range. In the background, the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, is seen trying to get away.
From there, Mr. Trump attacks a range of his critics. He strikes the late Arizona senator John McCain in the back of the neck. He hits the television personality Rosie O’Donnell in the face and then stabs her in the head. He strikes Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California. He lights the head of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential rival, on fire.
Also among the Donald’s victims in the video are former President Barack Obama, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former President Bill Clinton; the film producer Harvey Weinstein; and Representative Adam B. Schiff. The video concludes with Trump driving a stake into the head of a person with a CNN logo for a face. The Trumpster then turns to view his carnage, smiling.
Although I’m loath to share it, here’s THE video (shown at conference for his supporters at his own resort) depicting Trump shooting his enemies. I only share because folks should see where these people are at these days… pic.twitter.com/pA34lNVxk1
Reports describing a violent video played at a Trump Campaign event in which images of reporters & @JohnMcCain are being slain by Pres Trump violate every norm our society expects from its leaders& the institutions that bare their names. I stand w/ @whca in registering my outrage
At a conference of Trump supporters, they played a video of our president murdering journalists in a church. Last year, a Trump supporter sent bombs to CNN—and a shooter entered a church yesterday. This video isn’t funny. It will get people killed. https://t.co/XWtq1z38Kc
The only thing missing from this sickening #TrumpVideo is a voice at the very end saying, “I’m Donald Trump, and I approve this message” — because we all know he does.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted Monday morning that Trump (who lives on Twitter where the video is trending) “has not seen the video” but he “strongly condemns” the video.
Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS@realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Fox News During an appearance on Fox News ‘Face The Nation,’ Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told Chris Wallace the United States is “preparing a deliberate withdrawal” of about 1,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria “as safely and quickly as possible.” The move comes a week after Donald Trump announced the shifting of American troops embedded with Kurdish forces in northern Syria, a move that opened the door for Turkish forces to move against the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF). The SDF has been the United States’ primary allies in the fight against ISIS.
Republicans and Democrats agree only bad will come from this ‘deliberate withdrawal.’ Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a military veteran, said this on CBS’ Face The Nation:
And Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) agreed with his colleague from across the aisle:
.@RepAdamSchiff on Syria troop withdrawal: “The consequences will be far lasting…this is just an unmitigated disaster.” He predicts withdrawal will lead to a resurgence of ISIS. pic.twitter.com/iLlLziyvGi
Attorney General Bill Barr (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain) Attorney General William Barr says he has a problem with the inclusion of consequential LGBTQ figures in public school curriculums that do not allow homophobic parents to opt-out their kids on the basis of religious beliefs. From The Hill:
“Many states are adopting curriculum that is incompatible with traditional Judeo-Christian principles. … They often do this without any opt-out provision for religious families,” Barr said.
He particularly cited laws in New Jersey, California, and Illinois requiring an LGBT curriculum.
“The Orange County Board of Education in California issued an opinion that ‘parents who disagree with the instructional material … may not excuse their children from this instruction,'” he said, lamenting that in some cases parents are not “warned” about the material.
Schools already teach about the heroes of the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movements. What is the harm in teaching kids about the Stonewall uprising? As former Vice President Joe Biden pointed out at the LGBTQ Town Hall this week, almost half of all Americans incorrectly believe that federal law protects LGBTQ people from discrimination. Including some lessons on the struggles and accomplishments of LGBTQ Americans could help solve that issue.
InstaHunk Dan Tai enjoys a Texas sunset (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Randy Report favorite Dan Tai (above) is doing a photoshoot with Box Menswear in my native state of Texas – and I’m not there! Dan shares this pic saying no filter was used, it was just the gorgeous Texas sunset (and hottie model). • KIT212: Kenneth rounds up the what’s what in gay magazines across the country. • Outsports: Two-time Olympic champion Kerron Clement came out publicly today at a Nike event celebrating a new rainbow-inspired track and field at Los Angeles City College. He told Outsports, “I was tired of loving in the dark and being in the dark by myself.” • Fox News: With Shep Smith’s departure at the conservative news outlet, Chris Wallace is one of the few journalists there trying to be sane. Check out his response to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for calling the current impeachment effort against President Trump “unconstitutional:”
“I am a little surprised at Speaker [@newtgingrich], who I greatly respect. This is the exact opposite of unconstitutional.” Chris Wallace scolds Gingrich for calling impeachment inquiry “unconstitutional.” https://t.co/jh0nAu1Xuopic.twitter.com/8PogRbiopZ
• Newsweek: It took much less time for a majority of Americans to signal their support for impeaching Donald Trump than it did Richard Nixon. • NewNowNext: Homosexuality is already punishable by up to seven years in prison in Uganda, and the government is now trying to resurrect its ‘kill the gays’ law instituting the death penalty for anyone engaged in same-sex sexual activity, as well as punishing anyone found advocating for LGBTQ people. • INTO: In an earlier post, I shared my own coming out story. Now check out the ‘Old Gays’ from INTO as they talk on their own coming out. “If I would’ve told anyone I was gay… that would be the end of me.”
Shepard Smith signs off for last time on Fox News (screen capture) After more than 23 years with Fox News, chief news anchor Shepard Smith closed his telecast today with the news it would be his last at Fox. Saying he was “eternally grateful” to Fox News for the opportunities it has afforded him, he told his audience, “This is my last newscast here.” “Recently I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News and begin a new chapter,” Smith said. “After requesting that I stay, they graciously obliged.” “The opportunities afforded this guy from small-town Mississippi have been many,” he continued. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to report the news each day to our loyal audience in context and with perspective, without fear or favor.” “I’ve worked with the most talented, dedicated and focused professionals I know and I’m proud to have anchored their work each day — I will deeply miss them.” Smith seemed to reference tensions between the opinion and news divisions at Fox News commenting that the news division has always “endeavored to deliver” the news “while speaking truth to power, without fear or favor, in context, and with perspective.” In a nod to journalists, he said in closing, “Even in our current polarized nation, it is my hope that the facts will win the day, that the truth will always matter, that journalism and journalists will thrive.” Smith, who is openly gay, has been one of the few vocal critics of Donald Trump at the conservative cable news outlet. Several on social media note that Smith’s departure comes just two days after Attorney General William Barr held a private meeting with Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch, according to a New York Times report.
Shep Smith is leaving Fox News. The only person over there with an interest in occasionally holding this president accountable. And he is doing it the day after AG William Barr holds a secret meeting with Rupert fucking Murdoch. You smell somethin?
Your mom probably told you it’s what on the inside that counts. Well, then she was never a competitive figure skater. Rippon has been making it pretty for the judges even when, just below the surface, everything was an absolute mess. Traveling to practices on a Greyhound bus next to ex-convicts, being so poor he could only afford to eat the free apples at his gym, Rippon got through the toughest times with a smile on his face, a glint in his eye, and quip ready for anyone listening. Beautiful On The Outside looks at his journey from a homeschooled kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to a self-professed American sweetheart on the world stage and all the disasters and self-delusions it took to get him there. Sure, it may be what’s on the inside that counts, but life is so much better when it’s beautiful on the outside. I recently chatted one-on-one with the Dancing with the Stars champion about his new memoir, the journey taken and what’s next for the sassy world-class athlete. You can listen to the full chat with Adam below: 
