Without a medal to wear around his neck, is Johnny Weir going for Class Act Of The Olympics Award? Whereas his reputation at the Turino games was one of self-important snob, he’ll leave Vancouver known as the higher-road-taking, head-held-high, go-on-brush-your-shoulder-off Olympian.
Rather than engage media commentators in their own game of insults and stereotyping, Weir told reporters yesterday that, given he’s “heard worse in bathrooms” about himself, he’s going to leave the issue alone.
Just another reason Weir is a role model, not some shameful figure skating fag.
Mike in Asheville, nee "in Brooklyn"
Masculinity means having really big balls. Johnny Weir has huge balls!
A true hero for our youth to look up to.
(Sure wish Democratic so-called leaders, Obama/Pelosi/Reid, would grow a pair. Johnny, can you spare some?)
Cam
Smart move on his part. Nice one Johnny.
ROBinNYC
To think, he came into the Olympics this flamboyant, controversial headcase, and he’s leaving without a medal, but with more grace, dignity, class and, yes, balls, than any other athlete there.
Well done, Lady Weir. You make us (well…me, at least) proud.
Lukas P.
Weir is a class act. Medal or no medal, he’s a winner. He’s no diva.
A lesser person would have had a hissy fit, demanded a retraction, and called for heads to roll.
Queerty: the 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Torino, a.k.a Turin, Italy.
terrwill
Johnny qWeir: We love you, we really,really do! You got balls, you showed class, and you were robbed of a bronze medal. You can stop saying you are not Gay now! Please don’t keep insinuating you are the victim of anti-Gay bias when you keep denying that you are in fact Gay!!……………
And this just in: Johnny qWeir is going to most likely be in the next Dancing With the (mostly former) Stars……
Cam
No. 5 · terrwill
And this just in: Johnny qWeir is going to most likely be in the next Dancing With the (mostly former) Stars……
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Thank god, I heard that that nightmare Kate Gosselin was going to be on that show. I hope she and Jonny have a run in….I’d LOVE to see her try to outbitch somebody who’s been in the skating world for years. LOL!
KJ
Well done, Johnny! When we take offense for ourselves, we just get angry and ill, but when our efforts are for those yet to come, there is nothing we won’t do.
AlwaysGay
Johnny should have responded to the anti-gay bigotry directly. Heterosexuals want him to be subservient, DOCILE and perpetually disadvantaged because that is the status quo for gay people. They will continue to attack him no matter how he responds however now they feel like they have a pass because he won’t respond strongly.
dontblamemeivotedforhillary
Johnny Weir was actually smarter than Cam and AlwaysGay who would cry to the Media “Mummy, he called me a name!” They need to check the reasons for their own internalized homophobia.
john
Johnny, you missed the point — a newscaster who is a paid representative of a company is there to objectively report news — when their personal opinions over step their boundaries into the realm of color, race, creed, sexual preference, religion — their biased opinions need to be addressed and discilplined by their employer.
Employees represent the corporation they work for — the corporation needs to address employees who step over the fine line of discrimination and harassment and who put the corporation into a position of liability. The Public Broadcasting Agency which over-sees the operations of all public TV shows also needs to be aware and monitor implied discriminatory / off color jokes, remarks and personal opinions that are inappropriate and not relevant to the public broadcast being televised. This is not stepping on freedom of speech under the TV umbrella, but protecting the diversity that exists among the viewing audience.
I would hope that the Quebec counsel continues to insist on discilplinary actions of these public newscasters, and where the heck is GLAD in all of this controversy ???
I think I made the important point of this controversy……
Xtian99
what a reasoned, wonderful response to the comments made about him. Johnny is a wonder on his feet on the ice and quite wonderful off the ice, in the hot seat, when confronted by life’s ugly.
Cam
No. 9 · dontblamemeivotedforhillary said…
Johnny Weir was actually smarter than Cam and AlwaysGay who would cry to the Media “Mummy, he called me a name!” They need to check the reasons for their own internalized homophobia.
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Excuse me? My comment, (Comment #2) said the following….
“Smart move on his part. Nice one Johnny.”
Please point out where exactly I said he should cry and where exactly I was supposedly exibiting internalized homophobia.
missanthrope
<B you Johnny. Class and beauty all in one package, who can resist him?
rrr
It’s nice that he took the high road, but maybe it was in some part because it’s easier to avoid actually declaring his sexual orientation this way. So far he has refused to state his orientation when he’s asked about it, and he stayed vague about it in this speech.
Reny
“It’s nice that he took the high road, but maybe it was in some part because it’s easier to avoid actually declaring his sexual orientation this way.”
Seriously? What more declaration do you need? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhO-eruh6b8
tofer david
good for him, love it
Cam
No. 15 · Reny
Seriously? What more declaration do you need? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhO-eruh6b8
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Well, how about him not talking about how in your face and outrageous he is, then going stonefaced and silent whenever anybody asks him about his personal life. Saying that his acting flamboyant is akin to coming out is not only stereotyping the gay community it just isn’t true. Rosie O’Donell was butch as hell before coming out yet her entire audience was still acting like poor Rosie just hadn’t found the right guy yet.
Reny
“Well, how about him not talking about how in your face and outrageous he is, then going stonefaced and silent whenever anybody asks him about his personal life.”
What part of “it’s none of your business” didn’t you understand?
Cam
No. 18 · Reny
“Well, how about him not talking about how in your face and outrageous he is, then going stonefaced and silent whenever anybody asks him about his personal life.”
What part of “it’s none of your business” didn’t you understand?
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So then gay is shameful is what you’re telling me? If he isn’t out of the closet then how are we as gays supposed to defend him as one of our own which is what his fans are saying. I like the way he handled the press but come on, haven’t we move beyond the old “My private live is private” B.S. excuse? Celebs can keep their private life private, but they never deny that they are married to their spouse.
Cam
No. 18 · Reny said…
What part of “it’s none of your business” didn’t you understand?
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And lastly, when you go around constantly talking about how “Outrageous” and “In your face” you are and how you aren’t afraid to speak your mind to anybody…well then don’t act shocked when somebody asks you a question.
rrr
@Reny: I didn’t say I was demanding a declaration. I was just saying that realistically it is easier to be vague about your sexuality while saying you are going to ignore homophobic insults than it is to to be vague about your sexuality while taking public offense at homophobic insults and telling people off. That’s worth mentioning when everyone is patting him on the back about this.
However, it is a weird double standard that Queerty is calling Johnny a role model when normally they are very critical of celebrities who may flame or butch out on TV yet refuse to officially state they are gay. Remember the treatment Adam Lambert got? And Adam was competing in a national popularity contest against straights when he was being evasive, not competing in a sport widely regarded as very gay where awards are decided by a merit based scoring system not a popular vote.
Reny
@Cam: “If he isn’t out of the closet then how are we as gays supposed to defend him as one of our own which is what his fans are saying.”
Why do you have to defend him as one of your own, instead of speaking up against homophobic remarks in general? Are you saying that homophobia is OK when it is directed at someone who is not officially out?
Dasher
Johnny Weir is a class act.
Speaking of Adam Lambert, he was supportive of Johnny today. Will this topic come up March 2 on the Tonight Show?
Cam
No. 22 · Reny
@Cam: “If he isn’t out of the closet then how are we as gays supposed to defend him as one of our own which is what his fans are saying.”
Why do you have to defend him as one of your own, instead of speaking up against homophobic remarks in general? Are you saying that homophobia is OK when it is directed at someone who is not officially out?
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Your point is well taken, however, the gay community also is constantly going on about stereotyping, so to defend somebody that is being mocked for being feminine aren’t we buying in to the very stereotying we are constantly told is wrong? There is nothing wrong with saying that the announcers are out of line, I’m just saying that holding somebody up as a hero as people on here have said, should be reserved for people like Dan Choi etc… who actually come out. It sucks what the announcers did, but then make this about them.
Taylor Siluwé
No. 21 · rrr
I think Queerty rightly dubs him a role model for the strength that any fem boy has to have to excel in sport despite the ‘phobic forces against him. One would think a fem boy would fit right in with the figure skating world. But surprise, surpise, we’ve just run into the DADT of skating. It’s okay to be a little fem, but not too much.
He’s also a role model for taking his 6th place finish with class and dignity (unlike that whiny, bitchy, Platinum-award-inventing Plushenko).
As for the merit based system of the judges, well, I’ll just say a lot of people think that system was skewed by their own biases and Weir should have placed higher, possibly even Bronze. I say he should have gotten Silver – fuck that sore-loser gargoyle bastard.
No. 24 · Cam
Dan Choi is a hero. Without a doubt. Balls the size of Mini Coopers, for sure.
Johnny Weir is different (with a pair of Mini Coopers as well). Maybe I can’t even articulate how I feel about this situation that way I need to. I always want people to come out, be visible, yada yada yada – but with Weir its different. Let’s not even call him FAMILY or gay because he hasn’t said as much and we should respect that. However, he is without a doubt a fem man and that’s not something anyone has to admit to – it just is.
His unashamed FEM’ness is what offends the ‘phobes. As is boys “like him” should know better than to attract attention to themselves (for fear of causing other boys to act like him, too). Yes, that irrational and idiotic fear the boys around the world will chuck their footballs and hockey sticks in mass hordes to slip on revealing spandex and emulate Johnny Weir.
Johnny is fem. And using the logic that fem men are not necessarily gay, he may even be straight. Yeah, I know, but the logic is sound none-the-less.
My point is we need to side against those who verbally bash a fem boy. Period. He hasn’t claimed US and thus we shouldn’t claim him, per se. But people who attack those who are outside the stereotypical gender norms are the enemies of equality. And that’s what we fight – isn’t it?
Whether Johnny comes out or not, whether he’s gay or not is SO to the right of the point.