(New York, N.Y.) – It would probably be easier to pick the winning trifecta at the Kentucky Derby today than it would be to guess what Johnny Weir will be wearing when he shows up at Churchill Downs for the race this afternoon.
Something relatively subdued like the silver loafers and blindingly bright yellow watch he wore in New York City on Thursday? Something over-the-top like his sartorial muse Lady Gaga? Or maybe he’ll reprise the wreath of roses he wore on his head while waiting to see his figure skating score in Vancouver just 11 weeks ago. After all, the Derby is the Run for the Roses.
Although Weir finished sixth in Vancouver (one place lower than he had at the 2006 Torino Games), he felt he gave the performance of his life. And that’s why he has not stayed at home sulking while his teammates have pursued world championship medals or disco ball trophies on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Instead, the 25-year-old clothes horse has been charming everyone from Elton John to Kelly Ripa to another blonde style icon who unexpectedly appeared one night.
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“I was having dinner with Kelly and her husband Mark Consuelos,” Weir said, “and in walks Sarah Jessica Parker – one of my greatest heroes – and she said, “I know all about you!”
“It was one of the most exciting things,” he said – right up there with attending Elton John’s Oscars party, appearing on the red carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards, wrapping his reality show “Be Good Johnny Weir” (the final one-hour episode will air June 27 on the Sundance Channel), signing a book deal, and making plans to record a song.
The book is already underway and it will be out in January. “I’m writing it; I don’t believe in ghost writers,” he said. It has no title yet, but it does have a publisher: Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
As for the song, he said, “I realize I’m not a trained singer. But it’s fun to try. I’m trying everything.”
Weir has also made several charitable appearances: to support athletic programs in Harlem (Figure Skating in Harlem), young skaters in Chicago (Cuties’ Ice Dreams), fighting childhood obesity (nPLAY), and will appear at a May 6 benefit for AidsWalk New York.
Skating, meanwhile, has taken a back seat.
“I let myself go for a little,” Weir said. “I’d eat things I shouldn’t, like a slice of pizza or cake. I gained a few pounds. But I needed that. The Olympics are so draining.”
In March, Weir withdrew from the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships in Torino, Italy, saying he needed a break to “reassess my strategies and goals.” He had previously placed as high as third at Worlds, in 2008.
Weir has continued to perform, however. This spring, he starred in ice shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. On Thursday, he headlined the opening night of Ice Theatre of New York.
In front of a sold-out ice rink high atop a pier on the west side of Manhattan, Weir performed two numbers for the 26-year-old company that commissions world-famous choreographers such as Twyla Tharp and Lar Lubovitch to create works on ice.
Weir choreographed his first number himself. “It’s called ‘Heartbroken’ and it’s about sadness and expectations and not having achieved what all athletes want,” he said. “It’s my tribute to not winning a medal [in Vancouver].”
Under the spotlight, Weir’s skating remained exquisite, despite his two-month hiatus from competition. The lines on his spins were precise, his edgework was crisp, his feet were quick, he plied his limbs into the most graceful arcs, and he even threw a few effortless triple jumps under the spotlights. It was an evocative performance, and the fans could not get enough.
When Weir returned for the penultimate act of the night, he skated to Lady Gaga’s, “Bad Romance,” – “purely for fun and show.” With a makeup job inspired either by a David Bowie album cover or a raccoon, and a costume that was part Cher, part Elvis, and mostly Johnny Weir, fans of all ages began clapping and stomping in unison while Weir spun, spanked himself, and slid across the ice with remarkable skill and infectious joy. In short, he created a party on the ice that everyone wanted to join.
When the celebration ended, it felt slightly empty knowing that he may never perform so close to his athletic peak again.
“Next season, I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” said the two-time Olympian.
He would be 29 at the next Games, in Sochi, Russia. “Twenty-five is definitely advanced for the Olympics,” he said, referring to his age in Vancouver.
But Sochi has a special allure. Weir has always been fond of Russia. He speaks Russian, his coach is Russian, he likes to wear Russian Olympic team gear, and he greatly admires Russian athletes and artists.
The location “definitely plays a factor,” he said. “Sochi is a big dream.” Nonetheless, he said, “I felt in Vancouver I gave the best two performances of my life. I wasn’t rewarded with a medal.
“Figure skating is still highly political,” he said. “Politically, I don’t think it’s possible for me to win a medal – so either I find another sport, or another reason to perform. “
As the second-to-last skater to compete in the men’s free skate in Vancouver, he said the world champion from the US, Evan Lysacek, was already assured a medal, and “two Americans on the podium would be suspect unless they were undeniably the two best.”
Weir had placed sixth in the short program and skated cleanly in the free skate. While he did not throw a quadruple jump (nor did Lysacek), he figured he would move up in ranks. He didn’t.
“To be sixth? It was very hard,” he said, especially since two people ranked above him had fallen. Bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi of Japan fell on his opening quad toe loop. Fifth-place finisher Patrick Chan of Canada fell on his second triple Axel. And the fourth-place finisher, Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, executed two quads but put his hand down on one.
“I just barely beat seventh place – by less than a point,” Weir added, and the seventh-place finisher, Nobunari Oda of Japan, stopped in the middle of his program because his skate lace broke.
“But the feeling of satisfaction was the most important,” Weir said. “And I got that.”
On a lighter note, Weir was asked whether he had been following Lysacek’s foray on “Dancing with the Stars.” The two men have had a healthy rivalry dating back to the 2008 US National Championships where they tied for first place but Lysacek was awarded his second consecutive gold medal because he won the free skate. Weir had previously been a three-time national champion.
Although the tension has been palpable, both skaters have tried not to dwell on their differences too much in public.
Weir even voted for Lysacek during the second and third weeks of DWTS, helping to keep him on the show. “I thought I should at least support my fellow teammate,” Weir said.
All that changed this week. “Evan took a bad dig at me,” Weir said.
In an interview with Amy Bartner of the Indianapolis Star, Lysacek implied that the three-time national champion and 2008 world bronze medalist wasn’t talented enough to perform in “Stars on Ice,” a multi-city US skating show that features several Olympians. Lysacek said the tour “is really selective…and they only hire the best of the best to skate.”
Weir subsequently told People magazine, “My claws are out.”
Maybe the spat can be settled on a dance floor. One of Weir’s friends, Karina Smirnoff, is a professional dancer on the show, and Weir said she would be interested in being his partner in a future season, if he is invited.
Until then, there are derbies to watch, outfits to coordinate, charities to support, and no shortage of fans to embrace.
Life for Johnny Weir may be unpredictable, but it is undeniably entertaining.(c)