View this post on Instagram
Gay, Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby is continuing to wow audiences on Dancing With The Stars. He’s not the only LGBTQ contestant on ABC’s dance competition. YouTuber JoJo Siwa has made history on this season (the 30th!) by being the first same-sex pairing in the show’s history.
Related: JoJo Siwa is about to make history
Rigsby gave an interview to GLAAD last week to coincide with Spirit Day. He was asked why he hadn’t asked to dance with another man.
“When the conversation opportunity came up for DWTS, I was just so excited to be on the show, I guess I didn’t even think it was a possibility, so I didn’t bring it up!” he replied.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“Had I maybe had a moment to breathe and recognize an opportunity, I definitely would have asked! I know that Val [Chmerkovskiy] is really open to having a same-sex partner for next season and I think that would be incredible!”
Professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy is married to fellow DWTS dancer Jenna Johnson.
Rigsby is partnered on the show with dancer Cheryl Burke. Both of them had to isolate at home for a couple of weeks early on in the season after testing positive for Covid-19. They continued to take part in the contest, becoming the first couple to film their performances separately from home. They have now returned to the studio to compete alongside the other contestants.
Related: First gay male couple on UK’s celebrity dance show wow viewers
Both Rigsby and Siwa remain in the show at the time of writing, and GLAAD asked about the possibility of them competing against each other in the final.
“I think that would be an amazing finale! She’s incredible, what she is doing on this show, representing (the LGBTQ community) is amazing. She is showing a lot of little girls and little boys who they can be and giving them permission to create their own path. She is just so wildly herself in so many ways!”
View this post on Instagram
Rigsby also talked about his own experiences of being bullied when younger, revealing that although he didn’t suffer physical harm, other kids called him a girl when he was in the fourth and fifth grade.
Asked for advice to LGBTQ youth experiencing bullying, Rigbsy cautioned them to avoid spending too long on the internet comparing themselves to others.
“Even though you might not feel worthy of love, you are completely worthy of love and you will definitely find it not only in yourself but in the community that you create and the people that you start to experience outside of your family, or even school.
“Don’t change yourself to fit in!”
You can watch the whole interview below.
skeldare
So now we’ll have to wait for the next gay contestant to think about asking I guess.
ChucksCherubs
She did.
Cam
““When the conversation opportunity came up for DWTS, I was just so excited to be on the show, I guess I didn’t even think it was a possibility, so I didn’t bring it up!” he replied.”
Translation: I didn’t ask.
ChucksCherubs
Did that really need a translation?
Winsocki
This is exactly why I stopped watching DWTS…. they hardly are what you called stars. I never heard of this guy. So he does Pelaton..ahh what does that mean? So do lots of people I know. Half of the contestants I know nothing about. Who is this Jo Jo whatshername? I mean Bristol Palin is hardly a star or this Jade girl. More like. Dancing with the current media event. Let me not go on about Spicer, Yuk. DWTS should be dead in the water. No one I know watches it. I just read about it here.
Mack
I have to agree with you. It’s either the “current event” or a has-been trying to revive their terrible career. I stopped watching the show when it became evident that voting is controlled by the right wingers. Look at how long Spicer was on there and he was a terrible dancer.
Den
Reading comprehension issues?
He doesn’t “do” Peloton as some of your friends apparently do, he is a Peloton instructor. Given the popularity of the Peloton devices that came with the pandemic, he is essentially an “influencer” of the same magnitude as celebrity personal trainers.
As for Jojo Siwa, she is a singer and dancer who parlayed her following on social media into a viable career while still a teenager. She is an important role model for “tweens”, and despite a rather over-the-top persona, is doing her part to increase acceptance and inclusiveness in the next generation of kids. Just because you (or I) don’t know who somebody is does not mean they are not significant in popular culture or the arts. I don’t watch DWTS either because the quality of the dancing usually is poor. But it is a big deal to lots of people, and can serve to break down stereotypes or prejudices.
ChucksCherubs
It’s not like A list stars are going to go on a reality show.
Jim
When I read the headline I thought, “Give me a break”
But while Dancing in other countries have had male pairs, this is America and we are culturally backwards and sexually oppressed.
The first gay pair HAD to be female.
If it doesn’t adversely affect ratings we’ll see a male pair.
Remember, it’s show BUSINESS!!!!
Cam
Also, DWTS is notoriously right wing. THey had on Tom DeLay AFTER he was convicted, they put on Bristol Palin, they always have some right winger. I have a feeling if he asked they would have found another token to put on screen to claim that NBC isn’t bigoted.
jaimedance3
ABC not NBC
BigJohnSF
Nail polish! He’s so brave! Too bad the Peloton doesn’t seem to be working.
ChucksCherubs
Wow.
barryaksarben
while I bet your little troll body is just FIT right bitch
cuteguy
He wasn’t brave enough to ask for it even if it was offered. Female on female have always been more acceptable in our society. Women “experiment” in college while men are just gay. Sad that we can’t be more open
bsg1967
Chick on chick is a dudes sexual turn on that’s the main reason
Hank31
It’s really interesting to me to compare and contrast heterosexual men who suffer from effeminacy with their gay counterparts. Given the vastly larger size of the heterosexual male population, most men and boys suffering from this effeminacy are, in fact, heterosexual. But one big difference is that heterosexual fems wisely understand from an early age that this is a shameful condition for a boy or man, one which should be minimized if it can’t be fully corrected. At the very least, one ought to not advertise it.
But here in this Cody Rigsby story you have a good example of how gay culture magnifies the problem. He paints his nails and posts it on Insta. He goes out of his way to talk about how his
peers called him a “girl” in school, which is an indirect admission of a long history of effeminacy. A straight fem might be pitiable, but at least he knows he has a problem.
linedrive
So you like butch men. Got it.
Hank31
Nope. “Butch” is a fake performance of masculinity, not the genuine state present in all healthy men.
ChucksCherubs
So you’re a self-hating gay. Sad.
Hank31
Nope.
Effeminacy =/= gay.
Hating effeminacy =/= hating gay
barryaksarben
SO you were not a fem boy so you were a fat little boy. got it. You are such a miserable troll. Everything you post is anti fem which makes me think you have a shitty realtionship with mommy. I am a gay male who is sexually attracted to fem males only because they are brave enough to be themselves. In the same breath in which you suggest fems should hide it you call out “butch” as fake masculine. YOU girl are FKED up. but you arent a messed up gay are you , you are a republican troll
Hank31
@barryaksarben Wasn’t fat, no “mommy” issues, and am politically independent. Instead of name-calling and the like, why not try to engage with ideas?
As for “butch,” I was responding to a reply which claimed that I “like butch men.” I do not. I explained why. “Butch” is fake masculinity. It’s a performance and a pantomime, not the real thing. That I am not attracted to such fakery has nothing to do with the other point, i.e., that males suffering from effeminacy who are unable or unwilling to fix it, should minimize it, and not celebrate it. Minimizing effeminacy does not require playing “butch.” It can simply mean refraining from effeminate behavior. This is what many straight fems do. Moreover, if a fem did try to be “butch” — as fake as that would be — it would still be preferable and more socially advantageous to the fem than celebrating or attempting to normalize his problem. Obviously though, the best path is for the effeminate man to dive deep, determine the cause of his deficiency and take action to correct the problem.
Namaste!
Inspector 57
Forget about Ms. “Look at me — I know how to use exercise equipment!” Cathy Rigby.
Go to YouTube and search for “Johannes John Strictly Come Dancing.” I’d start with the Tango or Paso Doble episode.
john.k
In Ireland (and Britain) there is a programme called “Strictly Come Dancing”. A few years ago a tabloid tried to make a thing of the fact that a gay male contestant had a female dance partner. As a gay acquaintance of mine eloquently put it in a Facebook post “anyone who’s bothered by this needs to give their head a wobble”.