In an interview with UK LGBT glossy
Attitude, out figure skater Adam Rippon said that he and his
boyfriend were called “faggots” in New York City.
Rippon, the first openly gay U.S. male
athlete to medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South
Korea, said that he and boyfriend Jussi-Pekka Kajaala were verbally
abused as they walked in New York City holding hands.
“I was walking in New York City and
was holding my boyfriend's hand,” Rippon said. “Some guy came up
to us and said, 'I hate faggots,' then ran away. I just said,
'That's so sad that somebody would still want to do that.'”
The 28-year-old Rippon added that he
also suffered homophobic abuse on Twitter while competing at the
Winter Olympics.
“When I was at the Olympics, and this
shouldn't be the case, but every time I got a tweet or a message that
had an American flag in their name, I was always hesitant because it
was almost always a nasty Trump supporter,” Rippon
said. "It was always somebody who had something bad to say
about me, which is awful because I was representing their country at
the Olympics and I don't even want to open a message that has my own
country's flag.”
"It was always something nasty and
it was always something homophobic, but it doesn't bother me because
I'm very comfortable and very confident with who I am, and they're
not,” he added.
Attitude recently honored Rippon
with its Sport Award.