Adam Rippon says he got death threats just for being a gay Olympian. The bronze medal winner on Wednesday told the “Domenick Nati Show” about the attacks.
Rippon became the first openly gay U.S. man to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games, as HuffPost reports, but there was a great deal of attention surrounding him after he gave a now-famous interview to USA Today.
He pelted Vice President Mike Pence by reminding Americans that the former GOP Congressman had publicly supported funding for anti-gay “conversion” therapy. The VP denied the allegation, and at one point Pence basically called Rippon a liar via social media.
When asked directly if he had ever gotten death threats, Rippon said, “I mean yeah, I did.”
“I received all sorts of threats,” he added, including “negative comments and emails.”
Among those who sent Rippon negative comments? Donald Trump Jr.
Always one for keeping positive, “Rippon said his haters ‘don’t matter,’ and he questioned the effort they made to write him.”
“I’m gonna tell you, I wish I had that much time to waste, but I don’t,” he said.
Listen:
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Image by Andy Miah via Flickr and a CC license