Johnny Weir, a contestant on the latest season of Dancing With the Stars, opened up about discrimination he experienced while competing in figure skating. He revealed that his sexual orientation was perceived to be an issue when he was on the rise in his competitive career.
Before Johnny entered the world of reality TV and film, he was an internationally-recognized figure skater. Between the years 2003 and 2006, Johnny was the reigning US national champion. He was the first skater to win the national title three years in a row since Brian Boitano in the late 1980s. In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino and 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Johnny placed 5th and 6th respectively. In 2013, the national champ announced he was retiring from the sport. After his figure skating career ended, Johnny entered the world of entertainment. He is well-known for his figure skating roles in To Russia With Love and Netflix’s Spinning Out. He also appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race as a guest judge in the third season. This year, Johnny is a contestant on Dancing With the Stars who is still going strong in the competition. During a recent episode, Weir opened up about his tribulations as a rising figure skating star.
On October 26, Johnny Weir performed a Viennese Waltz alongside his pro dance partner, Britt Stewart. For Villains Night, Weir wore a spooky vampire outfit and Stewart dressed as his unlucky victim. Their costume was inspired by none other than Bram Stoker’s Dracula. After his performance, Johnny gave host Tyra Banks a heartfelt message, “You learn to listen to no one but your heart. And being unique has given me the life that I have.” Weir also opened up about his early days as a figure skater, “I had just turned 16 and I was competing internationally at the Olympic level. An agent approached me with my mom and said ‘the world is your oyster and we’re the agency that can take you where you want to be’,” Johnny recalled. “But he then looked at me and my mom and he said if you work with us and we create this future for you, you can’t be gay. And at 16 standing with your mother that isn’t necessarily a topic that you want to address.” The DWTS contestant added he was “mortified” by the encounter. “My sexuality was not something that I’d really voiced because you’re afraid of how something that is just inside you will affect other people and you can’t fix that. You can’t change that,” Johnny explained.
In the end, Weir was successful in the sport he was so passionate about without the help of agents. “My mom just said, we don’t need them. You’re just going to skate really well, you’re gonna book the jobs by yourself. I used all of that negativity to my advantage and became a national champion.” Johnny opened up about why he never came out in the figure skating world via Twitter. “I wear my sexuality the same as I wear my sex or my skin color,” Weir wrote. “It is something that simply is and something I was born into. I never ‘came out’ in sport because I didn’t imagine it as a great secret and it had nothing to do with my skating or my dreams.” Weir continued his thoughts in another tweet, “I was extremely lucky to grow up in a family/community of acceptance and perhaps that’s why I don’t see my sexuality as something that needs addressing. I am forever indebted however, to the warriors who came before me that allow me to lead the life I do so openly.”
Johnny is living proof that no great success comes without great challenges. In order to get where his is today, Weir had to fight discrimination against his orientation. We’re so thankful that he did because he set a brilliant example for other figure skaters, athletes, performers and people in general. His story also tells us that discrimination is still alive and we all need to do our part to fight it, no matter how hard that might be. Johnny, we wish you the best of luck in the remainder of the Dancing With the Stars competition!
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 pm ET on ABC.
