Eric Radford has opened up on how he feels about fellow Olympian Adam Rippon's comments on the Trump Administration.
Speaking to TMZ, Radford says he feels "lucky" that he doesn't have to face the pressure of the political agenda that Rippon is currently facing.
“I feel very lucky that I’m not Adam, and I don’t have to deal with that whole political side of things. I got a call from our Prime Minister… He’s been so supportive and kind and nice. I give all of my support to Adam and everything he’s doing – especially in the skating world.”
Speaking further, Radford, an out Olympian himself, stated "I’m going to try and get Adam and the guys together and head down to Pride House – maybe we can just spend a bit of time there and soak up that really positive energy.”
Pride house in an LGBT-inclusive space, hosted by the Canadian delegation.
Rippon faced criticism following his intention to boycott meetings with Vice President Mike Pence, an opponent of LGBT rights and the head of the US Olympic delegation. That's one brave move!
Speaking to CNN after winning his Bronze medal in team skating, Rippon said: "I have no problem about what I’ve said because I stand by it, but I think right now the Olympics are about Olympic competition and the athletes involved.”
He went on: “I don’t want my Olympic experience to be about Mike Pence, I want it to be about my amazing skating and being America’s sweetheart!”
This didn't go over well with Donald Trump Jr, who tweeted "Really? Then Perhaps you shouldn't have spent the past few weeks talking about him. I haven’t heard him mention you once???”
Me-ow!
This caused backlash from Trump and Pence supporters toward Rippon, who received homophobic abuse following the tweet, but the positives outweigh the negatives, with Rippon stating
"I’ve got so many messages from young kids all over the country… it’s incredibly powerful, this platform you can have at the Olympic games. I’ve heard a lot of people say, Adam Rippon should tone it down.
"I can’t tone it down, because I’m being me, and being myself. I would be doing myself an injustice, and I would be doing an injustice to those kids who don’t feel comfortable to be themselves."