After winning the hearts of Americans on the ice — and on Twitter — Adam Rippon will be staying in PyeongChang, South Korea, as a contributor for NBC for the remainder of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
NBC spokesman Greg Hughes told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday that the 28-year-old figure skater, who helped the USA bring home a bronze medal in the team competition, will work on a variety of platforms, including television, digital and social media.
Rippon has become something of a social media sensation, both among spectators at home and celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Sally Field, who are charmed by his drive, wit and candor.
Already a history-maker for being the first openly gay athlete to compete for America in the Winter Olympics, Rippon has not shied away from the role fame gives him as an advocate for the broader LGBTQ community. Rippon has been in the headlines ever since speaking out in a January interview with USA Today about President Donald Trump administration’s policies toward the LGBTQ community, calling out Vice President Mike Pence.
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“If it were before my event, I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick,” Rippon said. “I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet somebody like that.”
The outspoken athlete added that “there might be a possibility to have an open conversation” with Pence after he was finished competing.
People’s special issue The Best of Olympic Figure Skating is available now in the Time Inc. store, on Amazon and wherever magazines are sold.
And Rippon had a message to any haters.
“To all those who tweet at me saying that they ‘hope I fail’, I have failed many times many times in my life,” he wrote on Twitter last week. “But more importantly, I’ve learned from every setback, proudly own up to my mistakes, grown from disappointments, and now I’m a glamazon bitch ready for the runway.”
The 2018 Winter Olympics are airing live on NBC. To learn more, visit teamusa.org.