Openly gay Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon has spoken out about the ongoing homophobia he has faced since becoming a household name.
Speaking to Attitude magazine, Rippon recounted an incident in which he and his boyfriend, Jussi-Pekka Kajaala, were verbally assaulted on the streets of New York.
“I was walking in New York City and was holding my boyfriend’s hand,” the 28-year-old said.
He continued: “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 LGBTIQ+ rights activist, Dancing With The Stars champion and bronze medalist also recalled the online harassment he experienced while competing in the Winter Olympics earlier this year.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
