Homophobes Apologise to Johnny
Tags: Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, Figure skating, gay heroes, homophobia in sport, Johnny Weir 
‘Every little boy should be so lucky as to turn into me’
That was Olympic figure-skater Johnny Weir’s response to the homophobic remarks made by commentators from the French-language RDS network and Australia’s Channel Nine; both stations have since issued apologies. The Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians (CQGL) have filed a complaint against RDS with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council over the remarks made by Alain Goldberg and Claude Mailhot.
“This may not be politically correct,” Mailhot noted. “But do you think he lost points due to his costume and his body language?” His colleague Goldberg replied, “They’ll think all the boys who skate will end up like him … It sets a bad example.” (Johnny Weir is known for the outfits which he designs himself; they often include pink ribbons and sequins.) After mentioning athlete Caster Semenya’s forced gender test it was suggested that Weir should also undergo the test.
The 25 year-old skater held a news conference on Wednesday in which he reacted to the comments aswell as those made by Eddie McGuire and comedian Mick Molloy from Channel Nine in Australia which referred to Weir’s outfit being “very Brokeback Mountain”. In the news conference Weir stated:
“I’m totally for freedom of speech and voicing your opinion, so I can’t, like, have them fired. 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.”
When asked why he hasn’t clarified the matter of his sexuality or be “more explicit about where you fit in in that sort of broader continuum”, he replied:
“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.”
Weir finished in 6th place in the competition and it has since been reported that Channel Nine have invited Weir to join their team covering the remainder of the Winter Olympics.
The last word from Weir himself via his twitter page?
Why can’t we all just get along? Seriously? Love everyone like they deserve to be loved. Goodnight lovers.
Links:
www.vancouver2010.com
www.figureskatersonline.com
http://twitter.com/JohnnyGWeir
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[...] and adore his notion of “sitting down over a poutine” with the guilty party, the RDS (and Australian) broadcasters comments were gapingly offensive beyond reproach. If nothing else comes out of these Vancouver games, this [...]
Seems to be like he acted in a very dignified manner in the face of a lot of ignorance. Well done to him
Indeed. He rose above an awful lot of crap. I mean who hires idiots like this to commentate on sport?
Let’s call a spade a spade; ice -skating is camp. It has always been camp and always will be.
That doesn’t mean it’s not a hugely skilled sport. But have these people not been watching it for the last 100 years?
“That’s Gay” coverage of the media’s treatment of Johnny Weir: http://current.com/items/92224102_thats-gay-johnny-weir.htm
Go Weir for not getting involved in a tit for tat debate. He’s being very true to himself and setting a great example for any kids who might be watching.