Brody's Notes...Weir: “Nobody should be made to feel like a freak or a weirdo.”

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Feb 25 | At the Olympic International Press Center in Vancouver yesterday, figure skater Johnny Weir held court in his signature style, as he answered questions from the gathered journalists.  In his opening remarks he noted,

“I grew my beard out a little bit just to show that I am a man.” 

That statement created a round of laughter as Weir then turned serious to address the criticism of his personal style and character by French-Canadian and Australian commentators last week that has inflamed the LGBT activist community across the globe. 

“Nobody should be made to feel like a freak or a weirdo,” he said, “of course unless you want that.”

Sportscaster Alain Goldberg from the French-language RDS network had suggested Weir sets a “bad example” for other male skaters because “they’ll think all the boys who skate will end up like him.”  Then in a sarcastic aside, he and fellow commentator Claude Mailhot, referencing the controversy surrounding 18-year old South African runner Caster Semenya last summer,  said: “we should make him pass a gender test.” 

In Australia, Channel Nine commentators Eddie McGuire and Mick Molloy received negative reaction from viewers for comments made as the pair discussed the men's figure skating; Molloy said: "They don't leave anything in the locker room these blokes do they", before a chuckling McGuire added, "they don't leave anything in the closet either do they."

An apology the next day was issued as Molloy apologised for that comment he had made on Tuesday night:

"I made a joke that was a bit off colour, some of the crew here didn't like it either," he said.

"I suggested that there was a disaster happening at the ice skating rink because organisers had found out one of the male ice dancers wasn't gay.

"And I apologise for that really sincerely."

However, the apology was rendered insincere as Molloy added "but it definitely wasn't this guy" before cutting to a shot of champion American figure skater Johnny Weir wearing a pink and black outfit and holding a heart-shaped cushion.

Weir expressed no interest in apologies saying;

"I’m totally for freedom on speech and voicing your opinion, so I can’t, like, have them fired,” Weir remarked, "I’ve heard worse in bathrooms about me. It’s not a big issue for me that they said it. I just didn’t want other kids to have that same issue.

I want them to think before they speak. I want them to think about not only the person they’re talking about but also the other people like that person. I want them to think about the other generations of people that they’re affecting by talking like that. ... These two men were not criticizing my skating. It was them criticizing me as a person.”

Weir’s sexual orientation has been a subject of debate before including at the 2006 Winter Games in Italy, when the Chicago Tribune asked in an online poll if people cared whether Weir is gay or not.

At Yesterday's press conference, a reporter delicately asked if there was; “any benefit in being more explicit about where you fit in in that sort of broader continuum.”

Weir’s response:

“The reason that I am not explicit with who or what I sleep with is because I don’t think it should matter ... I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am. What somebody is has no basis in my life. That’s my personal conviction.

“I don’t think there’s anything that anybody has to be completely ‘out and about’ about. I think you should be ‘out’ about being yourself.”