The Adam Rippon Good News Thread

[Allskate]

But there are hundreds of others who also performed! Why is he getting so much pub; just because he's "out?"

I think you're missing part of the context. There was a rumor, discussed in the Andy Cohen interview, that Johnny Weir was jealous of Adam. It's pretty obvious that Johnny was tweeting in response to that.

And, no, Adam is not getting attention just because he is out. He was not the only American out athlete at the Olympics, but he's getting more attention. Part of it is because people thought he skated great (and some thought he was robbed). Part of it is his personality. Part of it is because his is a story of persistence. And, yes, there are people who really like his looks. (And let's not pretend that looks (a.k.a. porniness) don't enter into the popularity of other skaters.

 

[Fiero425]

I think you're missing part of the context. There was a rumor, discussed in the Andy Cohen interview, that Johnny Weir was jealous of Adam. It's pretty obvious that Johnny was tweeting in response to that.

And, no, Adam is not getting attention just because he is out. He was not the only American out athlete at the Olympics, but he's getting more attention. Part of it is because people thought he skated great (and some thought he was robbed). Part of it is his personality. Part of it is because his is a story of persistence. And, yes, there are people who really like his looks. (And let's not pretend that looks (a.k.a. porniness) don't enter into the popularity of other skaters.

Not sure why Johnny should be jealous! Along with Tara, they're the voice of figure skating! Adam's getting a lot of play now, but he'll be yesterday's news all too soon! I've seen it before and we'll see it again!

 

[Allskate]

Not sure why Johnny should be jealous! Along with Tara, they're the voice of figure skating!

Maybe he wasn't jealous. Maybe he really was very happy for Adam. Maybe it's some of both. But NBC did offer Adam a job as a commentator after he finished competing. Adam turned it down, but it still might have made Johnny a little jealous. Johnny probably thought it was his job to do the commentating. Also, I wouldn't doubt it if Johnny envies the fact that people seem to be embracing him as an out skater. That wasn't Johnny's experience. Things have changed a lot over the last ten years. It's really strange given how many gay men have been skaters, but so many American gay skaters have felt pressured to be in the closet and to not come across as stereotypically gay. I'm sure Johnny wishes he could have felt more of the acceptance and love that Adam is feeling.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Yeah, it pays to not always believe rumors. And it often seems that people like to think the worst of Johnny. As far as how Johnny is actually feeling, maybe he should be asked directly. I don't know one way or the other. But I do know that Adam and Johnny have in the past generally always had nice things to say about each other, which appears to be backed up by Johnny's recent tweet. It's very true, as Adam said, that Johnny's career and stance of trying to be himself helped pave the way for more openness within the sport, coupled with larger cultural changes. I'm sure there are valid reasons why Johnny never took the step of openly speaking out about his sexuality when he was still competing (prior to stepping away, writing a book and later making a comeback). But even as a young skater, Johnny fought to a fault sometimes, to maintain his own sense of self and self-worth.

After his first Olympics, Johnny made some new fans, but he also received some vicious hate mail (even Adam has received some mean-spirited, nasty tweets). And let's not forget that Johnny had to defend himself against the clueless comments of two Canadian broadcasters during the 2010 Olympics, which garnered positive attention and support for Johnny. Stephen Colbert championed Johnny and interviewed him during the Vancouver games. But Twittersphere was not quite at the same scale as it is today.

Probably Johnny's relationship and connection with some skaters changed a bit once he began commentating. In the beginning, Johnny was very complimentary and generous toward skaters and insightful in his observations. That seemed to change somewhat over the last couple of years, I think largely due to the strictures of NBC's format and Tara's tendency to monopolize the booth and to take a wrong slant on some things. In general, NBC's approach is status quo and in working for the network, Johnny and Tara have seemed to adhere toward a limited viewpoint that allows for humorous shtick and superficial pronouncements. Of course, that's not always true. They do offer some good insights on occasion.

So Adam finally got to meet Reese Witherspoon on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and I think the hearts may never leave his eyes.

Side note: I'm loving the fact that the music Jon Batiste played for the outro of the interview was Vince Guaraldi's "Skating".

^^ From A Charlie Brown Christmas theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn4Y3sHyfsg

 

[Justathoughtabl]

I guess we'll never know if Johnny was jealous, but he says he wasn't, and I'm sure it was tempting rumor to start, since I'm sure there are some people to like to think of Johnny as some kind of catty diva. Johnny would have no reason to be jealous. His own career is going extremely well, so I would think he'd be happy for Adam. There are definitely some parallels there. Both of them got post-Olympics attention that transcends their actual Olympic performances because of their personalities and because others have hated on them. With Adam, it's Pence, and with Johnny it was those two broadcasters, which compelled Johnny to give a very mature, poised press conference for which he got a lot of praise. With both of them, it's their grace under pressure, along with their wit and courage to be themselves, that garnered praise. And like Johnny, Adam is making the media rounds now. I believe Johnny was referred to as a "fame whore" at the time. But now I think it's recognized that this is kind what you after the Olympics. You take the opportunities you get. I hope they both have bright futures ahead, on and off the ice.

 

[nimi]

The videos will have to wait until they are posted tomorrow, but Adam just killed it on Colbert! He totally controlled both segments!

Adam with Reese: https://youtu.be/ym4MWosKD6M
Adam pt.2: https://youtu.be/f9MmOnfPrXA

Didn't see the Today Show he did earlier today, but they just posted a little clip on twitter and looks like they loved him, too: https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/971746075961937921

 

[sk9tingfan]

Adam with Reese: https://youtu.be/ym4MWosKD6M
Adam pt.2: https://youtu.be/f9MmOnfPrXA

Didn't see the Today Show he did earlier today, but they just posted a little clip on twitter and looks like they loved him, too: https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/971746075961937921

Thanks for posting those videos. My local NBC affiliate pre-empted his segment for Team Storm coverage; I was so bummed. I think that they did multiple segments with him; I'll watch the On Demand tomorrow.

 

[BittyBug]

I'm sure there are some people to like to think of Johnny as some kind of catty diva.

I'm sure all of us have our catty sides, but having met Johnny on a few occasions, I've always found him to be incredibly genuine and kind.

 

[jenniferlyon]

Adam Rippon Is Famous. What now?
New York Times interview:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/style/adam-rippon-talks-about-fame.html

 

[nimi]

^ I was just about to post this -- good interview!

Here's the bit about the future of his skating career for any TL;DR folks here:

How are you going to find time to continue to skate at the level that you’ve been skating at?

This was my first and probably — not “probably.” I’m not going to lead you down that path. This is my first and last Olympic experience as an athlete. On our Olympic team I was 28 years old, and we had two other really talented kids who were 17 and 18. So there’s a bit of an age gap there where I could have changed their diapers and babysat them when they were born. I’m an Olympic medalist, I’m a former national champion — I think now is my time to kind of step back and help them.

Are you saying you don’t want to skate competitively any more?

I don’t know. I know I won’t make it to another Olympic Games. And I think right now, being one week out of the Olympics, it’s probably too early to be like, “It’s over! Tie ’em up, put ’em on the shelf!” It’s something I’ve been trying to do my entire life. Now everything I do is literally just bonus.

Judging from my twitter feed, Adam's talk show slay count continues (I've lost count though). This time he was on The View. Checked YT and found this clip: https://youtu.be/KWXvMicCzm0

And tomorrow there's this:

Psyched to be chatting with Olympic phenom @Adaripp live at @BUILDseriesNYC tomorrow afternoon (you can watch live online).I've got a pretty good handle on what I want to talk about but if you have a burning question (and it's good), send it my way and I'll see what I can do.

https://twitter.com/noahmichelson/status/971770905172029440

 

[Yazmeen]

Not sure why Johnny should be jealous! Along with Tara, they're the voice of figure skating! Adam's getting a lot of play now, but he'll be yesterday's news all too soon! I've seen it before and we'll see it again!

I hope he has staying power exclusively to keep your knickers in a bunch about the attention he's getting.

 

[skatfan]

Adam just rocks the interviews. Glad he's getting to ride this wave - I hope he finds a way to take it to the next chapter.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

I saw him on Bravo's "WWHL" last night with Andy Cohen! The bartenders were in drag portraying Tonya & Nancy!

Why the eye roll? I LOVED it! The addition of 'Tonya & Nancy' was HILARIOUS! But to each his own!

 

[ks777]

Adam was on the View today. He was funny as always.

 

[Fiero425]

Why the eye roll? I LOVED it! The addition of 'Tonya & Nancy' was HILARIOUS! But to each his own!

OMG, everything's so measured around here! Eye roll just a habitual emoticon since I can't believe how much time I spend caring about such things as figure skating and TV in general!

 

[Allisanna]

HRC Announces Olympian Adam Rippon Will Receive Visibility Award at the 2018 HRC Los Angeles Dinner. https://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-announces-olympian-adam-rippon-will-receive-visibility-award-at-2018

There is a Facebook fan group for Adam if anyone would like to join us. We have over 3000 members. https://www.facebook.com/groups/52953610545/

 

[mollymgr]

I'm enjoying his interviews. I don't know if this has been posted but I found it funny.
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a19170493/adam-rippon-olympic-sports-video/

 

[sk9tingfan]

I'm enjoying his interviews. I don't know if this has been posted but I found it funny.
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a19170493/adam-rippon-olympic-sports-video/

I sent this in response to Adam. I think that this was before the large hill was in existence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7frGJf77AA

 

[aftershocks]

Another NYTimes article about how Adam eats and works out to be in such great physical shape. Breaking his foot was a blessing in disguise because on the road to recovery, he worked with a nutritionist and got in great physical shape to return and not miss a beat competitively. Adam's description of how to breathe and the importance of breathing and strengthening core muscles is very enlightening:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/...latedCoverage®ion=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

 

[Sylvia]

MARCH 9, 1:30PM EST (in New York City)
ADAM RIPPON
In February 2018, figure skater Adam Rippon won an Olympic bronze medal as part of the figure skating team event, thus becoming the first openly gay U.S. male athlete to win a medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Join Rippon as he takes the stage to talk about his career, his PyeongChang Olympic experience and more.

Link to watch live (will be archived): https://www.buildseries.com

This is his interviewer: https://twitter.com/noahmichelson/status/971770905172029440

ETA - Full interview is not archived yet but here are 3 clips:
https://www.buildseries.com/video/5aa2e42144a64b63c037212d/
https://www.buildseries.com/video/5aa2e42188420b6dfca780ec/
https://www.buildseries.com/video/5aa2e42144a64b63c0372127/

ETA #2 - Full interview is up: https://www.buildseries.com/video/5aa2ee5f8c08e06cff6b9294/

 

[nimi]

Link to watch live (will be archived): https://www.buildseries.com

That was an interesting one!

It seems Adam was on People TV earlier today doing another talk show appearance. That video is archived on twitter (https://twitter.com/people/status/972098476543750144) at least for the time being.

It's a more standard fare -- at one point a giggly host proposes to marry Adam, you know the drill -- but if you want to watch more Adam with glasses on, scroll around for the 20 min mark for his segment.

(BTW, If Adam doesn't get featured in a print ad campaign for overpriced glasses in near future, I'm going to be very disappointed.)

 

[Sylvia]

Another fun interview while in NYC - this time with Instyle: http://www.instyle.com/news/adam-rippon-figure-skater

Loved the story about his youngest brother who thought he was just the babysitter.

ETA:

@nimi, here's the friend he met up with in NYC (as mentioned in the People Now video clip here http://people.com/sports/adam-rippon-reveals-why-he-slid-into-whoopi-goldbergs-dms/ ) who ribbed him about being "famous" (scroll to 2nd photo): https://www.instagram.com/p/BgGwrIIgcir/

 

[sk9tingfan]

Editorial work and/or print ad work next?

https://www.si.com/olympic-figure-skating/photo/2018/03/09/adam-rippon

 

[nimi]

ETA #2 - Full interview is up: https://www.buildseries.com/video/5aa2ee5f8c08e06cff6b9294/

I see it's also posted on YT: https://youtu.be/OU5W94TE5YM

Another fun interview while in NYC - this time with Instyle: http://www.instyle.com/news/adam-rippon-figure-skater

Loved the story about his youngest brother who thought he was just the babysitter.

indeed

I also feel personally called out by the "I'm very big in the lesbian community" thing. Touché, Adam.

 

[nickp]

already so excited for Adam Rippon to inevitably slay a run on Dancing With The Stars and guest judge on Drag Race

 

[Sylvia]

This tweet by Charlie White made me laugh: https://twitter.com/CharlieaWhite/status/972237154641432576

Here's Sally Field's son last night at the HRC dinner in Los Angeles: https://twitter.com/SAMGREIS/status/972690713413472256

HRC (Human Rights Campaign) tweeted out excerpts from Adam's speech:

"When I was young, I loved to make people laugh, I loved to skate, but I used to be painfully self-conscious. I didn’t feel like I belonged and I felt different."

"I can remember the first the first time I shared with someone I was gay & I could feel this huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders. I felt reborn. It has been the most liberating experience of my life."

"I hope that everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, has their own coming out experience. When you can share who you are with the world, you will find great power."

"I made the choice to not care what others thought of who I was. I was going to be truly me. This was the biggest and most important decision I’ve ever made. To live fearlessly, to take risks, to let go of my fear of what others may think of me."

"To all the young kids out there: You are smarter than you think. You hold more strength than you may ever know. You are powerful."

"No matter where you have come from, or where you are going, there is someone who looks up to you & they will find inspiration in your strength of just being yourself. Be a role model & never forget that you can be someone’s champion. You are a winner."

Clips from his speech here: https://twitter.com/marcmalkin/status/972722283448971264

Getty Images of Adam - Arrivals (with Ashley) & HRC Dinner (award presented by Gus Kenworthy)

 

[BittyBug]

Here's Adam's full speech (including intro from Gus Kenworthy): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFN5YINmI5w

 

[Allskate]

Here's Adam's full speech (including intro from Gus Kenworthy): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFN5YINmI5w

Thanks for posting the link. That was a great speech. Adam said in an interview the other day that his greatest fear right now is not knowing what is next. But, whatever is next, I think it's going to be very rewarding for Adam. In addition to getting invitations to ice shows and tours, I think he's going to have a lot of opportunities to have a positive impact on many young people's lives. I'm not gay, but I think I still would have found him inspirational if I had heard him speak when I was young. Heck, I find him inspirational now.

 

[Sylvia]

Thank you, @BittyBug, for posting the full 20-minute video!

Here's an inspirational 3-minute version put together by HRC interspersing photos & video clips of Adam through the years with an excerpt from his speech last night: https://twitter.com/HRC/status/972891150574145536

 

[sk9tingfan]

Adam will be appearing on KACIE DC on MSNBC at 8 PM this evening