Figure-skating champion and cultural phenom Johnny Weir went on the Today show this morning to talk about his new book, Welcome to my World, in which he finally admits that he is gay. “I’ve never lived in a closet,” he told Meredith Vieira. “I’ve never claimed to be straight or gay; I’ve claimed to be Johnny Weir.” Weir, who delights in the label “controversial,” noted: “I was born a white male. A white gay male. I don’t ‘celebrate’ being white or male, so why should I celebrate being gay?” Weir also talked about the difficulty of telling his mother that he was gay. “I think the best way I can be an activist is to live my life and not make that be the one thing that is Johnny Weir,” he said. “I’m much more than just a gay man.”
