LGBTQ news and entertainment
NBC Olympic host Johnny Weir showed up for the closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympic Games in his own inimitable fashion. And when a former Trump lawyer trolled him for not fitting into their vision of “biblical masculinity,” Weir didn’t hesitate to clap back. Continue reading “Trump Lawyer Trolls Johnny Weir But, Like Her Court Cases, She Was Dismissed”
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| (Johnny Weir via Instagram) |
With attention on out Winter Olympic athletes Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy heading to the South Korea games, two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir got himself into some hot water after tweeting:
“Happy that there are representatives of the LGBTQ community competing at the Olympic Games. Notably, @guskenworthy, @Adaripp & several more. I never ‘came out’ in sport because being gay was something born in me & had nothing to do with my skating. I never came out as white…”
There was such an outpouring of digust as Weir seemed to compare sexuality with race that he eventually deleted the tweet saying, “Sometimes there just aren’t enough characters to finish a thought.”
And with that, he shared this thread of tweets to clarify his position:
I am so thrilled that there are out representatives of the LGBTQ community competing at the Olympic Games. Notably, @guskenworthy ⛷ & @Adaripp ⛸ among others. It is very brave for all of us to live our truths whether on the global stage or in our own homes.
Because of the attention on those athletes, many of you have written or tweeted because I am not referred to as “out” at either of my Olympics and in the traditional sense I wasn’t.
I wear my sexuality the same as I wear my sex or my skin color. It is something that simply is and something I was born into. I never “came out” in sport because I didn’t imagine it as a great secret & it had nothing to do with my skating or my dreams.
I was extremely lucky to grow up in a family/community of acceptance and perhaps that’s why I don’t see my sexuality as something that needs addressing. I am forever indebted however, to the warriors who came before me that allow me to lead the life I do so openly.
Many of you got upset last night when I tried to finish that thought in one tweet so I thought it needed clarification. I’ve got a busy day ahead so excuse me while I lotion…
Now, with his swan-like costume and red glove (named “Camille”) at the 2006 Torino Olympic games, I doubt anyone was wondering about Weir’s sexuality.
That said, Weir has shared in the past that he’s not a “rainbow flag waver” when it comes to LGBT activism.
In any case, I am a fan of athletes who do stand up and come out so young folks have heroes to look up to.
So, kudos to Rippon and Kenworthy for living their authentic selves as they head to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Earlier this week, former Olympic ice skater Johnny Weir made news for calling gay activists from Queer Nation “idiots” for protesting outside while he gave a speech at Barnard College.
He has now issued an apology for using the word “idiots” saying he felt “like a threatened underdog:”
“I was speaking at a university and called a small group of people protesting my speech, idiots, for no other reason that my tongue getting away from me.
This kind of talk is usually relegated to the safety of my own friend groupings and family but for some reason, I felt like a threatened underdog and needed to take a dig at the people who had me on edge.
At the end of my speech I opened the floor to a Q&A and it turned out that those very people protesting my speech, were actually friends of the faculty and brave LGBT activists who stood in the same room as me.
I felt, and still feel, a great deal of remorse for allowing myself to insult other people, fighting in their own way, and for using insulting words instead of my usual cheerleading antics for one and all.
[snip]
I have put my foot in my mouth before, and I probably will many times over, but it doesn’t change the fact that I stooped to fighting by slinging insults rather than being proud of my own voice and achievements and saying, my opinion matters too. I showed myself a lesser version of myself that night, and I’m glad I learned from it.”
Weir has been criticized by many in the LGBT community for becoming part of NBC’s Olympic coverage team for the Sochi Olympics due to Russia’s current anti-gay laws.
After speaking out against a proposed boycott of the upcoming Sochi Olympics in Russia, Johnny Weir has essentially disqualified himself by not registering for a qualifying event that might have gotten him to the US national competition:
Though Weir had raised the possibility of competing in Sochi in recent interviews, his decision to sit out the season and likely bring an end to his amateur career is not a surprise. He turned 29 in July, old by elite skating standards, and the sport has only gotten more demanding since the last Olympics. The top men in the world are now packing their free skates with three quads, and the time and training required to perfect those four-revolution jumps can take a toll.
His colorfulness is part of his massive appeal, and he remains one of skating’s most popular figures, particularly in Japan and Russia.
Weir was considered a long shot for the Olympic team
“The fact that Russia is arresting my people, and openly hating a minority and violating human rights all over the place is heartbreaking and a travesty of international proportions. I respect the LGBT community full heartedly, but I implore the world not to boycott the Olympic Games because of Russia’s stance on LGBT rights or lack thereof. I beg the gay athletes not to forget their missions and fight for a chance to dazzle the world.
“Olympics are history, and they do not represent their host, they represent the world entire. People make their own futures, and should a government or sponsor steal that future, whether it be a Russian government or American government, it is, as an athlete, the death and total demolition of a lifetime of work. Support the athletes. There isn’t a police officer or a government that, should I qualify, could keep me from competing at the Olympics.” – Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir