Out Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon
is among the 100 people on TIME's annual list of the world's movers
and shakers.
In a tweet, Rippon said that he cried
when he learned that he was included in the TIME 100: The Most
Influential People of 2018.
“When I got the news that I was in
@TIME 100 this year, I won't lie, I cried. I promise to continue to
help others who are struggling or feel unheard. Just being yourself
can be so powerful,” Rippon messaged. He also thanked singer Cher
for writing the “beautiful introduction.”
“All figure skaters are beautiful,
but Adam Rippon is different. He isn’t just a beautiful skater. He
has humility, grace and an incredible sense of humor,” Cher wrote.
“You could see in the leather-harness
suit he wore to the Academy Awards that he isn’t afraid to take
chances. It wasn’t about the suit, really. It was about the fact
that he dares to be different in a world where being different always
comes with a cost. I thought it was fabulous, of course.”
“Adam is a skater who happens to be
gay, and that represents something wonderful to young people. When I
was young, I had no role models – everyone looked like Sandra Dee
and Doris Day. There was nobody who made me think, Oh, I could be
like them. They represent me. Adam shows people that if you put
blood, sweat and tears into what you’re doing, you can achieve
something that’s special. You can be special. And I think that’s
very brave,” she
added.
Rippon was among the Americans who
medaled at this year's Winter Olympics.