Gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy: Anti-LGBT VP Mike Pence is ‘bad fit’ to lead Winter Olympics delegation

Gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy has hit out at Vice President Mike Pence again, attacking his presence at the Winter Olympics.

Ahead of his trip to South Korea this month as head of the Winter Olympic delegation, Pence has been making enemies among the LGBT athletes set to represent the US.

When gay figure skater Adam Rippon challenged the Vice President’s concerning stances on LGBT equality, Pence put out a statement suggesting that the athlete had misled the public.

And freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, who has been at the forefront of the US delegation’s publicity campaign, also says that Pence’s presence will send a negative message.

Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week, Kenworthy said Pence was a “bad fit” to lead the delegation.

He said: “It just seems such a strange choice for me, because I feel like we’re in 2018, we’re going into the Olympics – myself and Adam Rippon are the first two openly gay males competing in the [Winter] Olympics, and it’s just incredible to see how times of changed, because of people like you and athletes of the past.

“So many people have paved the way, but then to have someone leading the delegation that’s directly attacked the LGBT community, and [is part of] a cabinet in general that stands against us and has tried to do things to set us back.

“It just seems like a bad fit, and I feel like the Olympics is all about inclusion and people coming together, and it seems like it’s not really doing that.”

Kenworthy added he was looking forward to attending the games as an openly gay athlete – having been in the closet at the last Winter Olympics

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