ABC
Johnny Weir was a contestant on season 29 of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” The Olympic figure skater was recently in the spotlight once again as he co-hosted the Olympic closing ceremony alongside Tara Lipinski.
Weir wore a bouffant for the closing ceremonies along with Olympic hair clips. He shared a photo of the look on Instagram thanking Japan for hosting the Olympic games.
“I was honored to be present here but more so, I am so thankful that the athletes had their opportunity to shine & make their dreams come true,” he wrote. “Thank you Japan, for your bravery, your brilliance, and for bringing our world an endless amount of hope.”
The post was met with criticism from Jenna Ellis, who worked on former President Donald Trump’s legal team, and Weir chose to stand up for himself following the comments.
Ellis Called the Outfit Embarrassing
Hey @TODAYshow, if you’re going to cover a story, at least be honest enough to put in my full response to @JohnnyGWeir, not selectively edit.
Ellis took to Twitter to call Weir’s look “embarrassing.”
“#WokeOlympics closing ceremony clown,” Ellis tweeted alongside a photo of Weir. “How appropriate and utterly embarrassing.”
She added later, “Bring back the days when boys cared about growing up to be actual men. Biblical masculinity over woke fragility.”
That’s when Weir stood up for himself, taking to Twitter to respond, “The man I’ve grown into is a human that embraces the strength of the man & woman who raised me to be myself. If you feel squashed by the boot of someone else’s beliefs, remember you are free to live your life the way YOU believe. Also, religion isn’t an excuse for hate.”
Elli responded by saying that she wasn’t speaking from “hate” but instead “it’s actually genuine love to speak truth.”
Weir Was Told ‘You Can’t Be Gay’ as a Teenager
According to a 2020 interview with People, Weir was told that he wasn’t allowed to be gay as a teenager trying to break into the figure skating world. At the time, Weir said that he “never felt accepted into the community that I was trying desperately to be a part of.”
“I had just turned 16 and I was competition internationally at the Olympic level,” he shared. “An agent approached me with my mom and said the world is your oyster and we’re the agency that can take you where you want to be. But he then looked at me and my mom and he said if you work with us and we create this future for you, you can’t be gay. And at 16 standing with your mother that isn’t necessarily a topic that you want to address.”
He added that “My sexuality as not something that I’d really voiced because you’re afraid of how something that is just inside you will affect other people and you can’t fix that.”
Weir told the outlet that he was “mortified” and his mother told him that they didn’t need the agent anyway.
“You’re just going to skate really well, you’re gonna book the jobs by yourself,” Weir said his mother told him. He also said he used the negativity to thrive.
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‘Dancing With the Stars’: Johnny Weir Slams Offensive Comments Regarding Style, Sexuality