Интервью для teamusa.org
“Welcome to My World” honestly discusses your humble roots, romantic interests, and well-known friction with skating authorities. Has the response to the book matched your expectations? I’ve had so much good, positive feedback. People are really excited about it. Unfortunately, the press is focusing on “coming out” in the book and I never really lived “in” [the closet]. It’s actually the story of a two-time Olympian from a really small town, and how I made myself into who I am. Through the trials and tribulations with the figure skating world and a lot of mistakes I’ve made, my fans can see that no matter how many times I’ve fallen down, I get back up every time.
Did you have a ghostwriter?
I didn’t. I had somebody help me organize my thoughts. I haven’t been home for more than three days at a time since February last year, so I did have someone who was helping me with a Dictaphone, organize what I wanted to say, then I wrote it down in my own words. Of course, I was edited and people helped me out, but there was no ghostwriter.
Sorry, but I do have to ask about the gay part. I just want to know about the timing. Why now? Why in a book format? How did you decide to put that label on yourself that you’d resisted for so long?
I never kept anything a secret, really. I’m upset that a lot of people think I’ve now quote-unquote “come out” because I was selling a book and we thought it would sell more copies. That’s completely false and untrue. I couldn’t write my life story without discussing my personal relationships and my thoughts on love. People will have their own opinion as to: Why? Why now? Why so late? But I’ve never wanted to be anything other than Johnny Weir and I don’t celebrate being gay as one of the most important things about who I am. Just because it’s in the book doesn’t necessarily mean it’s of huge importance to me. It’s just a part of my life that I wanted to write about, the same as writing about the failure that was my first Olympic Games. It’s no different, it’s just a story.
Also on January 11, you released a song, “Dirty Love.” You wrote the lyrics and sang, but who wrote the music?
Lucian Paine, a producer from LA. He produces RuPaul’s music and has scored movies. He’s working on a project with Mr. Schuester, Matthew Morrison from “Glee.” He gave me a great beat, and helped me write lyrics when I was a little bit lost. So many people are having fun with it. That’s all I really wanted. I don’t care if I sell one cent or one million cents for this song. I just wanted to do it so people could dance and have fun.
What’s the inspiration behind it? What’s the underlying story?
For me, “Dirty Love” is not a sexual thing. The song is about having two faces and having to play a game. Really, I was inspired by my relationship with US Figure Skating. I constantly would tell them what they wanted to hear, then did exactly what I wanted to do. And that’s what the song’s about.
There are two mysterious words in the lyrics. What is “but agnyom?”
It’s Russian and means, “Make it hot.”
Through my whole career, I’ve always tried to transcend my sport. I wanted people to see me as a person. I don’t want them to see me just as a medalist from this or that event. I want them to understand who I am and what I’m trying to do with my art, with my sport. I think a lot of athletes bottle up their personality because they want to be accepted by everyone and loved by everyone. I’ve never had a problem if the only people that loved me were my manager and my mother. I’ve never been afraid of not being socially acceptable. And through that, I think people have had gotten a lot of respect for me. It’s funny, I can’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve been congratulated on being the Olympic champion from Vancouver – and I was sixth. So the public doesn’t necessarily remember who won the Olympics; they remember who made the biggest impact. And I suppose my plight in Vancouver – how well I performed and the public’s outrage to me not winning [a medal] – I think that’s made me very relevant because, in many ways, I became sort of the people’s champion.
Speaking of skating, is there a point when you will have to decide whether you are in or out for the 2014 Sochi Games – either because of the rules, or in your own mind?
Absolutely. I’ve purposely not booked my spring very much because I wanted the opportunity to start training again. I want to try to get myself back in shape and see how far I can go. I really miss it. I’ve been watching, as much as I can, the Grand Prix series. I still watch and feel like: Oh, I can do that better. Every time I get on the ice, I can still perform most of the skills I did at the Olympics so I don’t think the actual skating’s going to be the problem. I think the hard part will be getting my head back in the game and living the life of a monk so I can try to compete in Sochi where I’ll be welcomed as almost a hometown kid – well, a man, really, at that point, nearly 30. As opposed to the past two Olympics where I competed with the sole purpose of winning a medal, I think Sochi will be purely for my own entertainment and happiness because at 30 it’s very rare that somebody can be viable as an Olympic champion or an Olympic medalist.
Are you sill in the drug-testing pool?
Yes.
In the book, you often mention biased judging and the importance of conforming, and yet you won three national titles (2004-06). How were you able to achieve that while still being true to who you are?
I was still under the radar enough the first year that I won my national title. Nobody really knew that much about me personally. By the second year, I had established myself on the international scene and it would have looked kind of ludicrous had I not won the national championships that year. (He laughs). No matter how many issues the Federation had with me (because I was wearing a jacket that said Russia on it, or I wasn’t wearing the Team USA jacket when I was supposed to, and I wasn’t playing by the rules) I was still, at that point, superior to everyone else that was competing. The third year, I nearly lost in the Olympic trials for Torino.
I think it just came down to constantly putting out a good product and not really having a huge rival. It wasn’t until 2007 that I was beaten by Evan Lysacek. Before that, he wasn’t really on the same level. Once he made his transition and was really in it to win it, that’s when I stared to lose ground. I started to get disenchanted with a sport a bit in 2007. I made a lot of personal mistakes. In 2008 when I tied with Evan, I think I should have won. Other than that, I think the results have been pretty normal. I deserved everything I got, good or bad.
I‘m afraid of sharks. And spiders. I’m afraid of being buried alive. I’m afraid of not being able to perform, even if it’s a little show. Last week, I was in Moscow in “Alice in Wonderland” on ice. That would usually be kind of a scary proposition because it seems like it’s kind of [for] a lower-class skater. But in Russia, I was performing with Olympic champions to sold-out audiences, and I was so respected for taking on this role of the Mad Hatter. Even in that situation, where I can’t perform as Johnny Weir and I’m playing a character, I’m still performing. So I guess the fear is not being able to entertain my fans and not being able to perform.
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я ждала этого вопроса xD
Sorry, but I do have to ask about the gay part
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молодец чувак)
I’m upset that a lot of people think I’ve now quote-unquote “come out” because I was selling a book and we thought it would sell more copies. That’s completely false and untrue. I couldn’t write my life story without discussing my personal relationships and my thoughts on love.
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вот, вот, вот!
и не смейте никто больше ничего говорить про пиар :-/