Towleroad Guide to the Tube #69
HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: Sunday interview on Face the Nation.
ARMED & FAMOUS: Celebrities get tasered.
JOHNNY WEIR: Mark Lund publicly trashes (and outs) the skater.
JON STEWART: On Manhattan gas leak: New York's pilot light is out!
Check out our past guides to the Tube here!
Posted Jan. 9,2007 at 5:05 PM EST by Andy Towle in Iraq, Johnny Weir, Nancy Pelosi, New York, News, Sports | Permalink
And "masculine" skaters attracted fans more than "flamboyantly gay" ones. Sorry, but that is a fact
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And I'm suppose to be concerned with how many "fans" figure skating attracts? Yes, this may be true, but it is besides the point, Lady Heather. I could give a shit how many fans are attracted to figure skating. In the end, if he skates the best, he should win. Period. If the figure skating community is embarrassed by JW, that's their problem, and they'll have to deal with it. Sometimes, it's good to shake peoples' perceptions up. Some of us don't need to play it safe all the time.
Posted by: FedUp | Jan 10, 2007 12:03:16 PM
fuck mark lund. fucking self-hating, homophobe.
Posted by: paul cabral | Jan 10, 2007 12:06:27 PM
Woooow! Now I'm thinking Tanya Harding did it just cause Nancy's such a bitch, not just for sabotage.
What foresight you have Tanya Harding!
Posted by: Aaron | Jan 10, 2007 1:15:37 PM
Lady Heather...of course you can quote me on the clutch pumps calling the pumps taupe!
Posted by: peterparker | Jan 10, 2007 1:18:16 PM
Do Lund and Kerrigan think Evan Lysacek is going to woo the Nascar crowd over to figure skating with his masculinity? Americans who watch fs are already comfortable with watching men spin around in bedazzled bodysuits. I feel the difference between Weir and Lysacek is pretty inconsequential in this respect. And props to PeterParker for the taupe clutch purse line - I'm still laughing.
Posted by: Patch Rock | Jan 10, 2007 1:36:00 PM
He is turning into an American version of Emanuel Sandhu. Boo. (Feel free to correct me on that assumption). And "masculine" skaters attracted fans more than "flamboyantly gay" ones. Sorry, but that is a fact. Elvis Stojko, Philippe Candeloro et al held the popularity for male skaters for awhile.
Posted by: Lady Heather | Jan 10, 2007 4:56:19 AM
Indeed that perception needs correction, because there aren't greater media darlings than Emmanuel Sandhu and Johnny Weir out there. It's always painfully obvious that the reporters want them to win because they're aware of their talents through the championships, even though they don't always get it together at the competitions.
And personally I much prefer their styles over that of Elvis Stoiko whom I find a bit rigid and unauthentic to who he seems to be in real life. He bugs me..
I don't see anything wrong with feminity, I think it's a gift in a man. And the way Sandhu and Johnnny use it is not in the least bit flamboyant but graceful (it's just them being who they are)..and I'd be tempted to say that in Emmanuel's case he turned this expression into true artistry because he always manages to tell more of his story through his routines and make you feel "something".
Yes, I've love to see him get over his various demons and win pronto, but for an artist like him it's not the only goal: it's also about speaking truths, impacting the sport, and touching people's hearts. And I think Sandhu is accomplishing that.
As you can tell I'm a big fan :)
Posted by: Da | Jan 10, 2007 3:26:44 PM
"And I'm suppose to be concerned with how many "fans" figure skating attracts? Yes, this may be true, but it is besides the point, Lady Heather. I could give a shit how many fans are attracted to figure skating."
ITA with what you are saying. But like any other sport, it is about exposure and revenue. And keep in mind, JW has won 3 national titles in a row.
But Mark M has a point too. Weir seems more interested of late in making silly or quasi-controversial statements to the media than in anything else. And has plenty of excuses of why he doesn't do well.
Better not go to Wikipedia, they shut down Mark's bio. A lot of skating fans I know has made some nasty contributions, and it got out of hand.
Posted by: Lady Heather | Jan 10, 2007 3:41:40 PM
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Posted by: Brian | Jan 10, 2007 5:53:33 PM
I like Weir, but where are the queens who have criticized Richard Simmons and Carson Kressley in the past for their "minstrel acts for the masses"? Weir is just as flamboyant as they are, and could conceivably be taken to task for stereotyping our community and making straight men laugh at us. And Simmons, like Weir, is not out.
But Weir is cuter I guess.
Posted by: jmg | Jan 10, 2007 10:12:48 PM
Not sure where Lady Heather is coming from in saying that Johnny Weir isn't popular with fans of figure skating. In 2005 he won Marshall's, which is BASED on people voting at home. This year, he came in second, while your lovely masculine Evan Lysacek didn't even make it past the first round.
If anything Johnny's outspokenness, his lavish costumes, his beautiful, elegant skating and his overall artistry has brought MORE attention and love the figure skating--particularly for the male skaters.
Posted by: Chris Evans | Jan 11, 2007 3:13:54 AM
Chris Evans, I reread my posts, and I didn't say he wasn't popular with fans of figure skating. In fact, he is quite huge in Russia. And he did win the national title 3 times.
But in the Grand Prix series, or the worlds, he always manages to look like he doesn't give a damn. And has plenty of excuses. Mind you, not as lame as Sandhu's (ex. I was spooked by a ghost in my hotel room the night before) but they are excuses. He just seems lately to want media attention for everything BUT skating.
I don't know why, really, the commentators are fussing over the men so much, when all the American networks really care about is the female skaters anyway. They get much more airtime on ABC than the other three disciplines, and always will.
I am just glad I live in Canada where our male skaters are like rock stars...men's singles is (arguably) the marquee event.
Posted by: Lady Heather | Jan 11, 2007 9:35:45 AM
Oh, and to add, the wanting more "masculine" male skaters tend to be the thought of certain commentators and TV execs. True figure skating fans don't care so much.
Posted by: Lady Heather | Jan 11, 2007 9:39:17 AM
Mind you, not as lame as Sandhu's (ex. I was spooked by a ghost in my hotel room the night before)
Posted by: Lady Heather
lol wtf! - I never heard that story before. I should have known he was too far gone after he said he models himself after Prince and Michael Jackson. Actually if you go to his myspace he has a demo cover of him singing "Purple Rain"
www.myspace.com/emanuelsandhu
Posted by: Da | Jan 11, 2007 2:30:28 PM
So Mark M: Mary Margaret Lund can be a raging bitch towards our boy, Johnny, on television broadcast world wide because he's more "out." No.
"Most gay fans prefer the style of Lycasek" You have data to back that up? Didn't think so.
"The male form performs best when it's performing masculine moves." I want to see Johnny be Johnny, original, feminine, not your boring conception of masculine.
Master maturity? He's 21 for god sake; let him be the center of attention.
Your masculine European Brain Joubert's routine puts me to sleep.
So I think you should get a room and makeout with the manly, yet curiously mind-closeted, Mark Lund and keep him company, because his name is mud in the gay community.
Posted by: peequod | Mar 1, 2010 1:52:53 AM