Gus Kenworthy had a chat with Conan O’Brien about being out in the sports world and how he almost came out in a big way while participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics in notoriously antigay Russia.
He’s all adorable awkwardness and dimples while talking about his journey, and good for Conan for being an ally and giving Gus the space to share.
We’ll leave it up to you to watch the clip and discover the Stunt Queen move he almost pulled, but it’s safe to say it would’ve been an iconic moment.
Now that we know, we’re kinda bummed that he didn’t do it.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Alan down in Florida
Saw this last night. He is so adorable. Shame about all the haters.
AtticusBennett
and like literally every other gay athlete who won a medal, chose to do nothing.
Sochi Olympians, gay and straight alike, confronted the hateful bigotry of the Russian government with the courage and integrity of a bowl of mashed potatoes.
ingyaom
Oh, is Gus still gay? Thanks for the update.
Kieran
He’s not only an Olympic champion, he’s a gay champion as well. Bravo. And Bravo to O’Brien for giving him a platform.
tricky ricky
he left the former bf back in Russia to take care of those dogs he so publically adopted so they could go through quarantine. notice how we NEVER see those mutts.
enlightenone
Is this guy for real! More and more lame… What a coward. Who opened the closet door?
Murray
@AtticusBennett: This isn’t “U.S. style” bigotry like a baker won’t make a wedding cake for a same sex couple or a bar kicks out a gay couple dancing. No no, in Russia, it is a CRIME, and there is no U.S. constitution there to protect you. It’s easy to say you need to stand up to the hate when you are not threatened with criminal prosecution in a country that has no rights for the accused.
Glücklich
@Murray:
Even minus the criminal status of homosexuality in Russia, I’m galled Atticus thinks a total stranger *owes* him some sort of advocacy during said stranger’s big moment.
Analogous to the saying “It’s easy to spend other people’s money,” now some want to speak from other people’s platforms.
Captain Obvious
I’m guessing Gussy was still in diapers when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were learning about overexposure. Honestly only elder gays are getting the vapors over this kid at this point. No one else cares. He’s not a bad person or anything but this is way too much repetition in a world where we get a flood of new information every minute thanks to the interwebs.
Bryguyf69
His mannerisms have gotten a lot more flamboyant since coming out. Good for him, if that’s the true him. One of my side research projects is to determine if various mannerisms are acquired or innate. Was he suppressing such behavior while closeted, or did he acquire them by interacting more with the gay community (which he couldn’t do freely as a closeted celebrity)?
Here’s a second part of the same Conan interview, where he talks about doing karaoke in a Los Angeles gay bar with his boyfriend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ22-xljAOw
Bryguyf69
@AtticusBennett: Get real. Not only is the “advocacy” of homosexuality illegal in Russia (and publicly coming out can be consider advocacy), but gays were being physically attacked. In case you’ve been in a cave somewhere, search Youtube for examples. Do you seriously think it would’ve been wise for him to endanger himself and his teammates? That would have been selfish. At the very least, it would have been a distraction to what was a once-in-a-lifetime event for some athletes. During our invasion of Iraq, Olympic athletes were told to hide their USA logo to avoid provocation. How is this any different? In an event already charged with nationalism, addition provocation would’ve been stupid. This was his personal struggle. I admire him for realizing that coming out had ramifications beyond the personal.
Bryguyf69
Here is Gus singing in Jun 2015, before coming out. No, this is not a gay interview. It’s done by FreeSkier Magazine. I’ve cued the video to where Gus begins singing. Rewind to the beginning if you want to hear the interviewer sing, Born This Way, and see Gus’ reaction. Did he think the interviewer knew his secret? Note how Gus has fewer gay mannerisms here than in the post-coming out Conan interviews.
https://youtu.be/-LmtGDuxPI8?t=3m14s
Avery Alvarez
People should be able to come out on their own time, in their own way.
I thought that’s what we all kinda agreed on.
Send gay embarrassment/ psychotic lunatic Atticus Bennett/Little Qeerywi to Russia. Have him protest in Red Square. Just let it be televised so the rest of us can enjoy the entertainment of the ensuing fun.