Gus Kenworthy, the much-fawned-over professional skier who came out publicly last autumn, was Conan O'Brien's guest tonight on TBS' Conan. On the show Kenworthy talked about his coming-out journey and the incredible support he's received over the last few months. He also shared with O'Brien that he had talked with his then-boyfriend about coming out while in Sochi.
"Leading into the Russia Olympics there was all of this anti-LGBT legislation, and they warned people about, if any of the athletes are gay try not to show it," Kenworthy told O'Brien. "And I was like, that's bullshit. That's ridiculous. I had a boyfriend at the time and had talked about landing the best run ever and winning an Ollymic gold medal and kissing him at the bottom and I was like, that's the way I'd tell everyone."
Kenworthy said he's glad he didn't come out at the Olympics because he hadn't yet told his family that he's gay. If he had really wanted to come out and make a powerful public statement for LGBT equality, I suppose he would have told his parents before he went to Sochi.
Also of particular note is Kenworthy's revelation that he was being told to keep quiet if he was gay. We've heard of Olympic Committees taking that route with some athletes, spooking them about being "too gay" in Sochi in 2014. Hopefully that wasn't happening with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
