Miley Cyrus is cheering on her friend Gus Kenworthy after he came out publicly earlier on Thursday.
Kenworthy spoke to ESPN about his decision to come out, saying, “I want to be the guy who comes out, wins s— and is like, I’m taking names.” He also posted on social media, writing that he had finally “gotten to the point where the pain of holding onto the lie is greater than the fear of letting go, and I’m very proud to finally be letting my guard down.”
After news of Kenworthy’s coming out began to go viral, pop star Miley Cyrus posted a celebratory post on Instagram praising Kenworthy:
“Never have I ever been prouder to call @guskenworthy my friend! ( and he’s a bad ass fucking Olympic athlete) He is showing all of us what it means to be courageous and PROUD of who we are! You have won so much more than any medal …. You have won FREEDOM! I can’t wait to see what you and I can do with@happyhippiefdn together! You are making it possible to shine light on the LGBTQ community in front of a whole new world! So much respect for you ❤️ I looooove looooove looooove you! Ughhhhhhhhh heart is fluttering, feels like a million little cocoons just busted open and I am filled up with butterflies.”
Cyrus and Kenworthy were rumored to have dated in the past. As ESPN notes, “He was linked to ice-skater Gracie Gold and pop sensation Miley Cyrus. People magazine and US Weekly put him on their covers. He was a Jeopardy answer.”
Kenworthy acknowledged Miley’s show of support with a retweet about the post on Twitter.
Miley's Instagram post about @guskenworthy 💜 pic.twitter.com/X5EFnm5YlF
— MileyCyrus Updates 💔 (@CyrusIsMyVirus) October 22, 2015
Support has poured in for Kenworthy from countless others as well, including from Team USA for whom Kenworthy won a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
.@guskenworthy We are PROUD to say you are part of #TeamUSA! pic.twitter.com/RKD49HQtiW
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) October 22, 2015
Kenworthy for his part has been sharing his response to coming out publicly with his followers on social media. He tweeted that today “is the first day of the rest” of his life and quoted an apropos passage from Dr. Seuss.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) October 22, 2015
Just watched my story air on @ESPN @SportsCenter and I'm all choked up. Tears of joy! Thanks for your support 🙂 pic.twitter.com/A1VUHZh3Pb
— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) October 22, 2015
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." – Dr. Seuss
— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) October 22, 2015
