The moment Olympic skier gabbed his boyfriend for a live on-air kiss is being hailed as a pivotal moment for the LGBTQ community.
Gus Kenworthy shared a quick kiss on the slopes with partner Matthew Wilkas, shortly before a qualifying run on Sunday at the Pyeongchang, South Korea, Winter Games 2018.
What may seem like a small and insignificant kiss has been celebrated on social media as a positive step forward for the gay community.
Gus Kenworthy shared a quick kiss on the slopes with partner Matthew Wilkas, shortly before a qualifying run on Sunday at the Pyeongchang, South Korea, Winter Games 2018
‘For gay youth to see love celebrated in that way is a moment to celebrate,’ said gay activist Tyler Oakley, who was in the stands.
The silver medal winner, who said he hadn’t even realized the cameras were rolling when he shared the smooch and joked that if he had known how significant it was going to be, ‘I’d have made out with him.’
Kenworthy came out as gay in 2015, and is one of three openly gay athletes at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics this year.
Love wins! People took to twitter to express how important they felt the moment was
The 26-year-old said he’d wanted to kiss his then-boyfriend at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia but had decided against it at the last moment.
Homophobia is a major issue in Russia and in recent years, attacks on gay people, especially in the region of Chechnya. Natalia Poplevskaya of the Russian LGBT Network said there was ‘an organised campaign to detain gay men’ last year.
British-born Kenworthy said that being out at the 2018 games ‘has kind of meant the world to me.’
‘That’s something that I wanted at the last Olympics, to share a kiss with my boyfriend at the bottom but I was too scared to do it for myself,’ he told Reuters. ‘So to be able to do that to give him a kiss, to have that affection broadcast for the world is incredible.’
He added that the way to break down barriers and homophobia was ‘through representation’ adding that wasn’t something he got to see growing up.
Gus Kenworthy (USA) performs an aerial trick during qualification in Mens Ski Slopestyle on February 18 at the Games 2018
Kenworthy falls during the Freestyle Skiing Men’s slopestyle Aerial Final on day nine of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park
‘I definitely didn’t see a gay athlete at the Olympics kissing their boyfriend and I think if I had it would have made it a lot easier for me,’ he said.
On Twitter, many agreed saying that the kiss being broadcast round the world had made them ‘so happy’.
Corey Glader wrote on Twitter: ‘I had to rewind that and see it again. Amazing that yas did that on live tv.’
Emma Grant added that she was ‘old enough to understand’ the significance of a gay athlete’s kiss being shown on TV.
‘This may seem like such a small normal thing to do , but to see people in your LGBTQ+ community being able to do this openly and freely.. well there is nothing like it. #RepresentationMatters,’ Liz Michelle wrote.
Kenworthy has had a busy time, both on and off the slopes at the Pyeongchang Games.
He posed with gay figure skater Adam Rippon, engaged in a Twitter tete-a-tete about Vice President Mike Pence and got shout-outs from Britney Spears.
All the while, he kept the world updated on injuries — a broken thumb and a nasty hematoma on his hip, each of which would ultimately hamper him come Sunday.
Gus Kenworthy (right) came out as gay in 2015 and has shared photos of himself with boyfriend Matt Wilkas on Instagram
But he was still able to find a sense of humor – even through the pain.
‘Broke my thumb yesterday in practice,’ he tweeted. ‘It won’t stop me from competing (obvi) but it does prevent me from shaking Pence’s hand so… Silver linings! Will be giving my teammates (and literally everyone else) an enthusiastic “thumbs up!” of encouragement the rest of the trip.’
Sadly, on his third and final trip down the course on Sunday, he veered off-line on the landing of the second-to-last jump, he simply skied to the side of the final ramp and took the easy way down, knowing his hopes for a second Olympic medal were gone. He finished 12th of the 12 skiers in the final.
He shrugged his shoulders, looked at the TV camera and said ‘That’s OK’ before exiting the finish area.
The fact that the kiss was on NBC amplified the moment, much as Kenworthy’s presence at the Olympics has given him a broader platform to tell the world how he feels. Finishing last, he insisted, won’t change any of that.