Basically, someone asked if Ilia thought being gay would improve his PCS. Ilia was reading the comments/questions from fans and was all "what?!" with a mildly incredulous tone, and then he kind of expanded and took the question to the extreme, in what was clearly a joke, but... People who have been raised to take offense at every single perceived slight are all over Twitter and Reddit and... Yeah...
I hadn't checked reddit yet! https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/12vfd7o/ilia_malinins_response_to_his_controversial/
I don't think it's fair to say every one is raised to take offence to every single thing. It was a crappy thing to say. He realized that and backed it up. He's young and has a lot to learn. Those things are not mutually exclusive. No need to not hold him accountable when he can learn from it.
I didn't read Karen's comment that way, tbh. I don't think I have a problem with people who've taken genuine offence with the comment even though I don't see it as being anything more than a very immature joke. But I do think there are many who will take offence only as a gotcha, and many who will blow the offensiveness of the comment completely out of proportion and will never let him live it down no matter how many times he apologizes. I guess every kind makes the world.
They banned me because I disagreed with a mod on something
Huh, really? Well not a loss. I think my last straw was fanyus being completely insufferable since 2018 to 2022 4CCs, and then during the Olympics when they were finally told they were completely insufferable, deciding they were the biggest victims out there and oh-woe-is-us, what-did-we-ever-do-to-deserve-this, we-are-so-totally-outnumbered-by-evil-American-nationalists-while-we-keep-downvoting-everything-remotely-negative-to-oblivion-and-give-comments-about-our-victimhood-hundreds-of-upvotes.They banned me because I disagreed with a mod on something
I think it's okay to have whichever opinion as long as we acknowledge it's a joke. Ilia actually does have fans on places like twitter, like the people who like Cha for instance, because they thought their interactions are very cute. So if they're genuinely hurt and don't like him anymore (and a lot of them are certainly close to Ilia's own age), it's understandable.
Sure, but you're right that he sounds like a typical, slightly insufferable teenager. Ilia splits the middle, age-wise between 3 of my nieces and nephews, and I can absolutely imagine them, sarcastically, coming back at any adult in their life with that type of "extreme" response to what they view as a super-dumb question. Like "oh, yeah, if I change this, then that will change EVERYTHING" when it, obviously, won't.They banned me because I disagreed with a mod on something
Ilia sounds like your average slightly insufferable teenager. I hope he learns from this. In context it was clearly a joke responding to a joke, but it's hard to find context online these days. What he said was not okay even if it was a joke.
That is actually worse than I thought it was. That was a very dumb thing for him to say even as a joke. If he continues that type of jokes or attitude then we have a problem. If it is one off and he understand that it was offensive then it is water under the bridge.
I think the question itsef was not appropriate. Ilia responded how he could at that moment but I am sure he did not like the question and was doing his best to turn it into a joke.
I think he asked ''are you straight?''
It's "Ilia, do you need to prove you're straight?"
I agree. It was a provocation.What kind of a dumb question is that? Who even asks a teenager something like that?
Another teenager? It seems classic "dumb teenager" talk, lol, I'd listened to (and engaged in) much worse during high school. Both from the person who asked and Ilia's reply.What kind of a dumb question is that? Who even asks a teenager something like that?
That sounds like an excuse to me. Ilia is 18 not 12. He should know he doesn't have to respond to everything thrown at him. Hopefully at the next champs camp this is brought up if it hasn't been already. If anything I think any blow back will be a good thing for him in the long run and teach him to not be on social media as much as he is currently. IMO to put it simply he seems a bit focused on social media adulation then any other skater I have ever seen. His stream is always flooded with reposting whatever he is tagged which means he is looking at w/e he is tagged in and that can be a lot with such a wide audience. After Worlds SP last year he posted all this stuff and then after "bombing" the LP not a peep. Then for Jr. Worlds he didn't post much of anything until after the SP and LP which he won in spectacular fashion.
The fanyus were just waiting for an opportunity to start dragging him now that he's landed the 4A and he gave it to them, lol. God help him if Hanyu ever were to announce he's gay (ZERO speculation there on my part, just saying it would send the fanyus into overdrive).
Y'know, I was going to say "at least fanyus haven't dragged the homophobia thing into the 4A thing, they're being completely true to their own selves", but just now checked and this comment popped up lmao:
And i don't think it's fair that Ilia was being asked about HIS sexuality, ( the original question was about his "straightness") bc that's what he responded to. The problem was the question. Why is it ok to ask him or anybody these kind of things? It was also late evening when he went live, he was yawning all the time and was kind of annoyed at a lot of things asked
Because you choose to feel that way. Every kind of joke is seen as offensive these days, and nobody is able to laugh at themselves anymore. But let's just keep feeling like victims and giving people even more of a reason to treat us like that....
Uh, Ilia is an international athlete, so if some from places that repress LGBTQ+ "choose" to dislike him for it, it's within their rights to do so.
You do know that he's not the only one who runs his social media account? In merch they hired a new managment team in Canada that takes care for this stuff, and there's still Ari
Also, 18 in boys is equivalent to 12. And there's no need for extra "lessons" for a silly moment lol Imagine everytime you'd say or do something in the heat of a moment people would keep bringing it up to lecture you as if you don't already know this stuff 
There are more important things in this world to worry aboutNo, everybody choose the way they feel about something. Different people react and feel different to the same thing. People are not computer programs. Just because i'm a "certain way" this doesn't mean i automatically have to feel the same way as other people from my "category". What is even the reason to feel offended? Your ego.
So if Ilia had said "gay people should go and die" and someone gay "chose" to get offended, it'd be because of their "ego"?
