Johnny Weir said he cried following his commentary of scandal-plagued Kamila Valieva’s performance in the women’s figure skating short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Olympians-turned-broadcasters Weir and Tara Lipinski offered an uncharacteristically somber take for NBC on the 15-year-old Russian star skater’s performance on Tuesday. Valieva has been enmeshed in controversy after officials allowed her to compete even after failing a drug test for banned heart medication.
On Wednesday, Weir admitted it had been “a very emotional journey” for him and Lipinski “as skaters, as Olympians and as broadcasters.”
“I walked out of calling the short program yesterday and sat outside and cried because it’s such a terrible situation to watch unfold,” Weir said on NBC. “For a 15-year-old to have the weight of the world on their shoulders and then to have to condemn everything surrounding her.”
“She is so talented that we, as well as many people, thought that she would be the Olympic gold medalist here,” he added. “And now to have to reevaluate everything you thought about that. It’s just a nightmare.”
Watch the interview here.
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