Gracie Gold's memoir published February 2024

[Ananas Astra]

We finished reading her book over the weekend. To say that we're shocked would be an understatement, after putting together all of the clues Gold hinted.

Would you mind sharing your idea via PM?

 

[skateboy]

Comes by it naturally. There’s none snarkier than a blue collar person from one of the towns just north of Boston. As we say “no filtah”

South of Boston, too.

 

[Simone411]

I sure wish I still had my YouTube channel, but I finally found it. This was Oksana competing at the 1994 Fox Rock n Roll. She won beating Nancy with the same score she had at the 1994 Olympics. This time, it wasn't Oksana turning away from the interview. It was Nancy shrugging her shoulders, turning around and walking away. It cuts off before she walks away, but you could see the expression on Nancy's face.

Oksana Baiul- jive

1994 rock and roll championships

youtu.be

 

[bardtoob]

I sure wish I still had my YouTube channel, but I finally found it. This was Oksana competing at the 1994 Fox Rock n Roll. She won beating Nancy with the same score she had at the 1994 Olympics. This time, it wasn't Oksana turning away from the interview. It was Nancy shrugging her shoulders, turning around and walking away. It cuts off before she walks away, but you could see the expression on Nancy's face.

Oksana Baiul- jive

1994 rock and roll championships

youtu.be

This was a remnant of those early Pro competitions where if you were an Olympic gold medalists that was performing the same exhibition to Canon in D you did at the Worlds gala the year you retired while barely managing to hold on to your single jumps then you would still automatically beat a 30 year old Denise Beillmann with triple jumps and the Beillmann spin while skating to the #1 song on the Billboard Dance Music Chart for that week because, as an Olympic gold medalist, "you are SOOOOOOOOO artistic".

 

[Prancer]

So it's a terrible thing for fans to talk about how Gracie (and others) dealt with stress and anxiety, but Nancy Kerrigan is fair game?

 

[Vagabond]

Based on the all the times I saw her on TV growing up she was rather blunt about herself and others. I never understood why people thought she was some stereotypical ice princess.

Nancy Kerrigan was packaged as a stereotypical ice princess, with heartwarming details about her mother, who was visually impaired.

 

[bardtoob]

So it's a terrible thing for fans to talk about how Gracie (and others) dealt with stress and anxiety, but Nancy Kerrigan is fair game?

I would prefer to talk about the coach that gave Nancy an eating disorder while simultaneously gossiping about the weight of Nancy's competitors.

 

[Lynn226]

I would prefer to talk about the coach that gave Nancy an eating disorder while simultaneously gossiping about the weight of Nancy's competitors.

I didn't know Nancy had an eating disorder.

 

[Aceon6]

I would prefer to talk about the coach that gave Nancy an eating disorder while simultaneously gossiping about the weight of Nancy's competitors.

All I remember was the butt incident when they “strongly encouraged” her to stop the water and weight therapy she was getting after the whack because they saw her muscles growing.

 

[Jarrett]

Nancy Kerrigan was packaged as a stereotypical ice princess, with heartwarming details about her mother, who was visually impaired.

Yes and she acted like anything but so whoever believed that was just naive. A relative having a disability doesn't soften a person's persona unless I missed the videos of Nancy leading her mom's around, feeding and dressing her.

 

[Vagabond]

Yes and she acted like anything but so whoever believed that was just naive. A relative having a disability doesn't soften a person's persona unless I missed the videos of Nancy leading her mom's around, feeding and dressing her.

People will judge a book by its cover, and back in 1992-94, the average person had access to little if anything more than could be gleaned from television and the pages of newspapers and Sports Illustrated.

 

[Carolla5501]

So it's a terrible thing for fans to talk about how Gracie (and others) dealt with stress and anxiety, but Nancy Kerrigan is fair game?

There's a lot of "talking out of both sides" as my mother used to say. I think the real truth is that a lot of us think "it's terrible for YOU to post anything but my motive are pure and of course I KNOW The truth" LOL! (I just made up m new rule " If you would not say it to the skater IN PERSON where the skater knew your REAL name... maybe you should not post it" I admit I make errors but it's something to strive for)

 

[MacMadame]

I didn't know Nancy had an eating disorder.

She has said she had disordered eating in past interviews. I don't remember her saying she had a full-blown eating disorder. Could be misremembering though.

Not sure how she got into this convo though as I don't think Gracie said anything about her in the book and she didn't compete during the Kwan era. That's FSU for ya.

 

[melanieg]

There's a lot of "talking out of both sides" as my mother used to say. I think the real truth is that a lot of us think "it's terrible for YOU to post anything but my motive are pure and of course I KNOW The truth" LOL! (I just made up m new rule " If you would not say it to the skater IN PERSON where the skater knew your REAL name... maybe you should not post it" I admit I make errors but it's something to strive for)

Amen to that.

I would add that USFS seems to try to deliver what American “fans” want. It says it all that Mitch Moyer apparently seemed to Gracie to be focused in great part on her fortunate surname, looks and (need for more?!) makeup. Gross. They saw marketing opportunity in Gracie the same as they did in Alysa’s cute, cheerful appearance. It’s shallow and oppressive to these athletes, who are multidimensional and much more interesting humans than that.

Even on these message boards, we see a lot of shallow declarations and/or pot shots about skaters, all made based on appearances and assumptions. And so cowardly hidden behind clever usernames, to Corolla5501’s point. The (toxic) fan base needs to take a good hard look in the mirror as much as USFS does.

 

[Sparks]

She has said she had disordered eating in past interviews. I don't remember her saying she had a full-blown eating disorder.

Yes. It is important to remember that disordered eating doesn't = eating disorder

 

[overedge]

I would add that USFS seems to try to deliver what American “fans” want. It says it all that Mitch Moyer apparently seemed to Gracie to be focused in great part on her fortunate surname, looks and (need for more?!) makeup. Gross. They saw marketing opportunity in Gracie the same as they did in Alysa’s cute, cheerful appearance. It’s shallow and oppressive to these athletes, who are multidimensional and much more interesting humans than that.

Even on these message boards, we see a lot of shallow declarations and/or pot shots about skaters, all made based on appearances and assumptions. And so cowardly hidden behind clever usernames, to Corolla5501’s point. The (toxic) fan base needs to take a good hard look in the mirror as much as USFS does.

Not just USFS - the networks that broadcast Nationals, Worlds and Olympics too. The focus on stories, fluff pieces, and "up close and personal" also feeds into gendered stereotypes and expectations.

 

[MacMadame]

The (toxic) fan base needs to take a good hard look in the mirror as much as USFS does.

You do realize that that is something toxic people absolutely will not do, right?

 

[Simone411]

The main reason I posted the video of Nancy shrugging her shoulders and walking away during the 1994 Fox Rock n Roll is because of posts I was seeing about Oksana walking away from interviews, etc. It wasn't all about Oksana, and during the 1994 Olympics ceremony they had to wait around 10 minutes before it started. Nancy was saying out loud it was probably about Oksana's makeup and that she would be crying again when she received her gold medal. It wasn't about that at all. They were trying to find a copy of the Ukraine's anthem to play during the ceremony.

And then she was complaining to Mickey Mouse that it was so corny that she had to stand up there with him and didn't like the work she had to do when she was Grand Marshall at the Main Street Parade at Disney World. One of the off-camera workers even told her that she needed to smile. She was being paid 2 million dollars and was acting like that. Two Million dollars was a lot back then and it still is now.

If somebody would have been paying me 2 million dollars, I would have been so excited and smiling the whole time. I would have been so gracious especially if Walt Disney World was paying me that much money!

Fluff Pieces No. 23 - 1994 Lillehammer, Figure Skating

Hamar, NORWAY - 1994 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Fluff Pieces No. 23 - Post-Winter Olympic Games report catching Nancy Kerrigan complaining about the work ...

www.youtube.com

 

[Vagabond]

She has said she had disordered eating in past interviews. I don't remember her saying she had a full-blown eating disorder. Could be misremembering though.

Not sure how she got into this convo though as I don't think Gracie said anything about her in the book and she didn't compete during the Kwan era. That's FSU for ya.

Expanding on what I have previously posted.

All threads are about Michelle Kwan, but some of the code words that are dead giveaways are:

• Frank Carroll
• Rafael Arutyunyan
• Scott Williams
• Tara Lipinski
• Gracie Gold
• Tonya Harding
• Nancy Kerrigan
• Denis Ten
• Evan Lysacek
• Carolina Kostner
• Lori Nicol
• Nicole Bobek
• Sasha Cohen
• Chen Lu
• Irina Slutskaya
• Maria Butyrskaya
• Sarah Hughes
• Anyone named Karen
• Los Angeles
• Southern California
• Colorado
• Utah
• Rhode Island
• Belize
• Central America
• snorkeling
• politics
• Hillary Clinton
• Joe Biden
• diplomacy
• secret babies
• Grand Prix
• U.S. Nationals
• World Figure Skating Championships
• Olympics
• coach
• training
• injury
• interpretation
• choreography
• competition
• spirals
• jumps
• ice
• skating

 

[escaflowne9282]

The main reason I posted the video of Nancy shrugging her shoulders and walking away during the 1994 Fox Rock n Roll is because of posts I was seeing about Oksana walking away from interviews, etc. It wasn't all about Oksana, and during the 1994 Olympics ceremony they had to wait around 10 minutes before it started. Nancy was saying out loud it was probably about Oksana's makeup and that she would be crying again when she received her gold medal. It wasn't about that at all. They were trying to find a copy of the Ukraine's anthem to play during the ceremony.

And then she was complaining to Mickey Mouse that it was so corny that she had to stand up there with him and didn't like the work she had to do when she was Grand Marshall at the Main Street Parade at Disney World. One of the off-camera workers even told her that she needed to smile. She was being paid 2 million dollars and was acting like that. Two Million dollars was a lot back then and it still is now.

If somebody would have been paying me 2 million dollars, I would have been so excited and smiling the whole time. I would have been so gracious especially if Walt Disney World was paying me that much money!

Fluff Pieces No. 23 - 1994 Lillehammer, Figure Skating

Hamar, NORWAY - 1994 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Fluff Pieces No. 23 - Post-Winter Olympic Games report catching Nancy Kerrigan complaining about the work ...

www.youtube.com

Much as I think Disney is cheesy AF for an adult to go to, I could never get past Kerrigan's attitude about it. She was paid two million dollars just to put on a fluffy princess dress and smile and she couldn't grin and bear it for five minutes? Wow.

What makes it worse is she complained to the guy dressed as Mickey Mouse , who likely had to do this for a living for far less than 2 million dollars, about how corny shameful it was. I'm surprised all those cartoon characters didn't put the kibosh on her.

 

[overedge]

In Nancy's defense, I believe that her agent (now husband) booked the Disney appearance, to capitalize on the media attention from the Olympics, and it wasn't her idea. He also got her the gig to host Saturday Night Live, which she was terrible at by her own admission and didn't want to do. I can understand her feeling like this was corny and not something she was prepared for.

 

[Simone411]

In Nancy's defense, I believe that her agent (now husband) booked the Disney appearance, to capitalize on the media attention from the Olympics, and it wasn't her idea. He also got her the gig to host Saturday Night Live, which she was terrible at by her own admission and didn't want to do. I can understand her feeling like this was corny and not something she was prepared for.

I understand what you're saying that it wasn't her idea, but her agent's (now husband). But still, two million dollars was a lot of money. She may be a bad actress especially regarding SNL, but I think she could have put out a little effort and even a smile since she was the Grand Marshall at Disney World.

 

[Aceon6]

I think she could have put out a little effort and even a smile since she was the Grand Marshall at Disney World.

We don’t teach Southern nice in the hockey rinks around Boston. Most people I know can’t help themselves and will say what’s on their minds unless they’re face to face with someone who is horribly dressed. Then they’ll tell the person that the outfit is “eye catching”. Again, no filter/filtah.

 

[layman]

Surya had paid her dues, so to speak. Soooo many silver and bronze medals. I think she can be forgiven for thinking it was her time.

Gracie Gold has talked (and written) about not being able to fit into the Ice Princess, Grace Kelly mold that the Skating Establishment and Frank Carroll wanted her to be. How do you think Surya Bonaly felt? To me, that fully justifies a breakdown (or two).

 

[Allskate]

I wish she was allowed to play hockey when she asked.

Yeah. I wonder how her life would have been different. But, she does love figure skating (though not a lot of the stuff that comes with it). Her sister has played hockey since leaving figure skating. If Gracie really wanted to do that, she could. Gracie makes it pretty clear that she loves the figure skating itself.

Gracie Gold has talked (and written) about not being able to fit into the Ice Princess, Grace Kelly mold that the Skating Establishment and Frank Carroll wanted her to be. How do you think Surya Bonaly felt? To me, that fully justifies a breakdown (or two).

I think there's a difference between having a breakdown in public in response to the results and during the medal ceremony and being unhappy about being able to fit the ice princess role. (I also think that Surya and her supporters sometimes complained about Surya getting low scores for not fitting the stereotype when at least some of the problems were not having the best skating skills. I don't think she would have received the highest skating skills scores under the code of points. Yuka would have received great PCS scores.)

But, although Gracie complains about not being able to fit the ice princess mold, I don't get the impression that public tantrums, especially during the competition and during the medal ceremony, are okay with her. She chewed out one of her students for having a public meltdown while another skater was taking the ice and told him that he should cry in the bathroom.

 

[overedge]

I understand what you're saying that it wasn't her idea, but her agent's (now husband). But still, two million dollars was a lot of money. She may be a bad actress especially regarding SNL, but I think she could have put out a little effort and even a smile since she was the Grand Marshall at Disney World.

She was stressed out from the Olympics and from being in a situation that wasn't her choice. It wasn't about the money for her - she didn't ask to be there or to get paid that much.

 

[MacMadame]

She was stressed out from the Olympics and from being in a situation that wasn't her choice. It wasn't about the money for her - she didn't ask to be there or to get paid that much.

But she was taking it out on the wrong people.

 

[Simone411]

We don’t teach Southern nice in the hockey rinks around Boston. Most people I know can’t help themselves and will say what’s on their minds unless they’re face to face with someone who is horribly dressed. Then they’ll the person that the outfit is “eye catching”. Again, no filter/filtah.

Maybe that's most people that you know around there, and that's so sad if it's true. I don't believe that all people act that way, and maybe it is because I am from the south. I was raised to respect people and be humble and kind. I'm also very appreciative of most of the people I know in my small town. They've been so kind and helped me when I became disabled in 2011.

So many of the friends I've made here at FSU have been so good to me, and you don't know how much I appreciate it. The people here from FSU are some of the nicest people I've ever been around. And I want them to know how much I appreciate what they've done for me here.

So maybe there are a lot more of those folks you refer to that are a little "southern nice". So maybe that's why I wished Nancy would have put in a little more effort when she was the Grand Marshall at Disney World. I like Nancy, but she absolutely could have smiled and been more courteous especially when Disney was paying her two million dollars.

 

[PRlady]

I’ve seen people not used to having cameras in their faces react really badly. At that point through no fault of her own, she’d been front-page news for months. I’ve never been a big fan of her or her skating style but I can understand why she had had it up to here at that point.

And I hate Disney venues too. $2 million isn’t enough to get me to Disney World especially in a public rah-rah role.

 

[jlai]

I’ve seen people not used to having cameras in their faces react really badly. At that point through no fault of her own, she’d been front-page news for months. I’ve never been a big fan of her or her skating style but I can understand why she had had it up to here at that point.

And I hate Disney venues too. $2 million isn’t enough to get me to Disney World especially in a public rag-rah role.

2 million in 2024? No. 2 mil in 1995? Oh yeah!