In noting that he's been bullied all
his life, figure skater John G. “Johnny” Weir gave the example
that he was called ma'am four times in one day.
The 3-time U.S. National Figure Skating
champion with a knack for drawing attention to himself guest starred
Monday on CBC Television's Battle of the Blades, the live show
that pairs former NHL players with female figure skaters in an ice
skating version of Dancing with the Stars.
In
an interview conducted before the show with EyeWeekly.com, Weir
discussed the recent rash of gay teens bullied to death.
“It's not an easy road,” Weir said,
referring to being different. “I've been bullied nearly every day
of my life. Today, how many times was I called ma'am today? I think
four times today. Or, you know, constantly being called 'faggot' in
school. It's awful.”
“It's so distressing to see what's
actually happening with these kids that feel so alone and so weak and
it's so sad and I mean, I can relate in a way that I've been
bullied.”
“But suicide is never the answer. If
you want to send a message, live. And live the way that you want to
live. And let that be your statement to the world. You have to be
strong. Suicide is an easy way out of a problem.”
Estrellita, Weir explained without
prompting, was a woman who mistook him for a lady.
“Oh, Estrellita was this lady who
told me I was going into the wrong bathroom, the mens bathroom. It
was a sixty-year-old – had to be sixty, unless she was really not
aging well – a sixty-something Mexican lady yelling at me 'No, no,
no!' So, literally, I had to point down and say 'hombre.'”
Weir has previously said he'll address
the issue of his sexuality in a yet-to-be-published memoir.