Michael Rothman hyped Johnny Weir "amazing style and eye-catching outfits" in a Thursday item for ABCNews.com about the openly-homosexual figure skater's "split from his husband." Rothman labeled Weir "the man who stole the show at the Sochi Olympics," after the former Olympian provided on-air commentary in his "flamboyant outfits," including "black leggings...ankle-high boots" and even a tiara [1].
Rothman's short write-up [2] included Weir's Tweets on his break-up with Victor Voronov:
"It is with great sadness that I announce that my husband and I are no longer together. My heart hurts, and I wish him well," he wrote yesterday.
Even though this relationship didn't work out, Weir, 29, let his fans know he hasn't given up on love.
"No matter what, I am a cheerleader of love and partnership and creation. I am sad yet I am thankful that I was loved and that I could love," he added.
The three-time U.S. champion married Voronov, a lawyer, in New York in 2011 on New Year's Eve....
The ABC News journalist also included a link to a slideshow [3] of Weir's "amazing outfits."
Besides his "flamboyant outfits," the figure skater was spurred on by Joy Behar to assert that "Jesus was a woman" during a March 2010 segment [4] on Behar's now-defunct show on CNN sister network, HLN.
Weir also likened a pro-traditional marriage Olympic gold medalist to racists in a May 2011 interview [5]:
"Most people would have an issue if the chef (de mission) publicly was against Asian-Americans or African-Americans, so it should be dealt with if the chef is anti-gay...
"It's wrong,"' Weir said in a telephone interview. "I certainly wouldn't want to be represented by someone who is anti gay marriage. It isn't just about marriage, it is being allowed equal rights as Americans. The fact this man who is very publicly against something that may be represented on the American team is disgraceful.''
— Matthew Balan is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matthew Balan on Twitter. [6]