Adam Rippon became an LGBTQ icon when he became the first openly gay American athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, so it’s fitting that his first Dancing with the Stars: Athletes performance will be to a song by a fellow LGBTQ icon.
According to GoldDerby , Adam Rippon and his pro partner Jenna Johnson will cha-cha to the sassy RuPaul tune “Sissy That Walk” for Week 1 of Dancing with the Stars . Mic writer Tim Mulkerin praised Rippon for choosing the “cheesy banger familiar to any queer man worth his salt.” It proves that he’s not going to shy away from being his authentic self on the ABC reality competition, even though there will be a fraction of viewers who don’t want to be reminded of the fact that he’s a homosexual man.
The 28-year-old professional figure skater has made it no secret that he’s a huge RuPaul fan. Back in February, he quoted RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Kennedy Davenport in a tweet aimed at all his haters. He had upset some people by saying that he would refuse to meet Vice President Mike Pence due to the politician’s hostility toward the LGTBQ community, and some of the offended were tweeting at him to let him know that they wanted to see him fail at the Olympics. Rippon fired back by informing them that he was “a glamazon b*tch ready for the runway.”
Adam Rippon also told the Hollywood Reporter that one of his dream gigs is to be a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race , and performing to a RuPaul song on Dancing with the Stars is certainly one way to get the host’s attention. However, Rippon was presented with an even better opportunity to woo Ru at the April 24 Time 100 Gala. As reported by Billboard , the two actually crossed paths at the event. In one photo snapped during the star-studded affair, the Olympian is kneeling at the feet of the drag queen.
Adam Rippon ( @adaripp ) kneeled before his queen @RuPaul at the Time 100 Gala https://t.co/jnbG2sUbfX pic.twitter.com/Msj4oC6X81
— billboard pride (@BillboardPride) April 25, 2018
Adam Rippon made the list of Time ‘s 100 Most Influential People this year, and he gave a speech at the Time 100 Gala. He thanked his mom for telling him to never give up on his dreams because her words of encouragement led to a moment at the event that he will never forget. However, it involved Keith Urban, not RuPaul.
“I met Nicole Kidman tonight, and she even let me smell her husband,” Rippon said. “If it wasn’t for the words that my mom told me, ‘never give up on your dreams,’ I never would have had that experience.”
If Adam Rippon survives Week 1 of Dancing with the Stars: Athletes , perhaps his second performance will be to a Keith Urban tune.
Dancing with the Stars: Athletes premieres Monday, April 30 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
