Is Johnny Weir Too Gay for 'Stars on Ice'?
That would be impressive. GLAAD says the Lady Gaga-loving Olympian was excluded from the money-raking figure skating tour because he is "not family friendly."
GLAAD blogger Lauren Mattia writes,
GLAAD has learned from a source that wishes to remain anonymous that sponsors of the Stars on Ice Tour, which include Smuckers and IMG Entertainment, have refused to allow 3-time US National Champion and 2-time Olympian Johnny Weir to participate because they claim that he is "not family friendly."
To say that Weir is "not family friendly" would be a clear jab at his perceived sexual orientation. Weir is extremely involved with his family. He is putting his younger brother through college, and supports the family financially because his father's disability prohibits him from working. [...] Weir's performance and costume style is sometimes considered flashier than those of other skaters, leading to questions about his perceived sexual orientation.
GLAAD's post doesn't specify whether Weir was invited or had an interest in joining the Stars on Ice tour, which will feature teammate and Olympics gold medalist Evan Lysacek, no-longer-competing Sasha Cohen, and Japan's Miki Ando. Weir has said he's taking a break from performing to train privately, and has yet to comment on GLAAD's claim. Stars on Ice also has yet to comment, though we've invited their spokeswoman (and Johnny's) to comment. [GLAADBlog via ThinkProgress & TubeTruckr]