US Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir — known for his flamboyance and eye-popping costumes on the ice — held a press conference on Wednesday to address the recent controversy surrounding offensive public jibes a pair of Canadian assholes broadcasters made about his sexuality on the air.
“I’m not somebody to cry over something or to be weak about something. I felt very defiant when I saw these comments,” Weir said referring to homophobic comments made by two Canadian commentators, one of which suggested Weir should undergo a gender test. “It wasn’t these two men criticizing my skating… it was them criticizing me as a person, and that was something that really, frankly, pissed me off,” Weir continued.
“I hope more kids can grow up the same way I did and more kids can feel the freedom that I feel to be themselves and to express themselves and that’s the most important thing….”
Way to tell ‘em, Johnny!
Weir placed sixth in men’s figure skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
After yesterday’s press conference, the skater hit his Twitter to remind his fans and followers to adopt an attitude of tolerance: “Why can’t we all just get along? Seriously? Love everyone like they deserve to be loved. Goodnight lovers.”