SGN February 16, 2018 - Section 1

Celebrating 44 Years!

Issue 7 Volume 46

FRIDAY February 16, 2018 FREE!

25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

A love story for the ages: Can Can’s Romeo + Juliet SEC 2 PG 1

Darkness falls as Noir City returns to SIFF SEC 2 PG 1

Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

US Department of Education Adam Rippon: A new star on won’t investigate Trans the world stage discrimination complaints

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos – Photo courtesy of Getty

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US Department of Education will no longer investigate complaints from Transgender students who have been denied access to restrooms that correspond

to their gender, the department said in an email to a BuzzFeed News reporter.

BuzzFeed’s Dominic Holden wrote in his February 12 column that the department replied to an inquiry on February 8,

see DEPT. OF ED. page 11

Seattle area Veterans Administration hosts open meeting for LGBTQ military veterans

Photo courtesy of Getty

by Ron Rasmussen Special to the SGN The Seattle area Veterans Administration is hosting a meeting for LGBTQ

military veterans on Friday, February 23 at 10:00 am at the Wounded Warrior Project office, 2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 130.

The office is located along the waterfront

see VETERANS page 7

Figure skater Adam Rippon (l) and freestyle skiier Gus Kenworthy are the first openly Gay men to compete for the United States of America at a Winter Olympic Games. @GusKenworthy: “We’re here. We’re queer. Get used to it.” – Photo courtesy of Twitter

by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer Regardless if you have been watching the Winter Olympics, currently in

PyeongChang, South Korea, you have definitely been hearing the name Adam Rippon, who has been very Out and vocal

see ADAM RIPPON page 12

Singer, songwriter k.d. lang to perform fundraising concerts on Vashon

k.d. lang - Photo by Frazer Harrison / AP

by Juli Goetz Morser Vashon Beachcomber Vashon just got lucky, very lucky. Not lucky once, but twice as international pop

and country singer-songwriter k.d lang plans to launch her U.S. “Ingénue Redux” tour with two benefit concerts at Vashon Center for the Arts in February.

see k.d. lang page 5

2 Seattle Gay News

February 16, 2018

Celebrating 44 Years!

Seattle Gay News F O U N D ED 1974 MEMBER

2018

1707 23rd Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 324-4297 sgn2@sgn.org sgn.org

Deadlines Classifieds | Thursday at Noon Calendar | Tuesday at 6pm Display Ads Space Reservation | Monday at 5pm Ad Copy (non-camera ready) | Tuesday at 5pm Ad Copy (camera-ready) | Wednesday at 5pm Letters to the Editor | Tuesday at 5pm Obituaries | Call the SGN office All others | Tuesday at 5pm

Editor in Chief George Bakan Copy Editor Rick McKinnon (since Dec 2013) Advertising George Bakan • Maggie Bloodstone MK Scott National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Miryam Gordon • Albert Rodriguez Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen • Ron Anders Madelyn Arnold • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone • Beau Burriola Sharon Cumberland • Jessica Davis Tina Gianoulis • Anthony Greer Milton W. Hamlin • Nevin Jefferson Richard Kennedy • Shaun Knittel Liz Meyer • Jason A. Miller Jesse Monteagudo David Nguyen aka Teriyaki Temple Rod Parke • Don Paulson Jerry Peerson • Jessica Price Scott Rice • Leslie Robinson MK Scott • Mark Segal • Gaysha Starr Sarah Toce • Paul Torres • Janice Van Cleve Ed Walsh • James Whitely Scott Wittet • Rex Wockner

OBITUARY

IN MEMORIAM – R. Martin Allen-Diveley

Cartoonist Ken Campbell Calendar Editor Rick McKinnon Classifieds Rick McKinnon Photographers Nate Gowdy • Joseph P. Herron Shaun Knittel • James Whitely Production Mike Pham Website Designer Barry Thorsness / Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2018. Frogs and Ink, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission.

Publication of names, photographs, or likeness of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business.

Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper.

Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication.

We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write.

And please play safe.

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your ad. Credit will be given for the balance owed.

No exceptions.

In Loving Memory Of Steve Foiles • Scott Roger Alpert Cookie Andrews-Hunt James Leland Moore Randy Peters • Lee Richeson Shaun Shelton • Jim Tully James Arnold

Martin Diveley – Photo courtesy of Mark Finley

by Mark Finley Special to the SGN “We’re in the garage.” It’s a moment that’s burned into my memory with laser like precision. I was about to go off the handle when he flashed that “everything is going to be great” smile that only Martin could do so effortlessly. That gentle grin stopped me cold – for two reasons: 1) I knew that he was right – we’d be great; and 2) behind that sweet calming countenance was a powerhouse that didn’t let anything stand in his way or keep him from what he wanted.

I was first introduced to Martin in the early to mid ’90s when we were both heav-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

ily involved with the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle. I was merely a past Miss Gay Seattle – but he was Imperial Prince 26 and well on his way to becoming Emperor Rainier 30 – so when he came to me with ideas I listened.

This was the era of endless fundraisers and benefits for any and all HIV/AIDS organizations at least twice a month. As you can imagine, attending them time and time again, one could grow bored before the show and begin trying to figure out how many times a $1 tip could make its way through all the performers hands. Martin came to me because he knew I would literally do anything onstage or for an event.

With the help of the Capitol Hill Gay AA group we started Bat’N’Rouge, the annual Drag Queens Against the Dykes Softball Game – which is still going on today!

The other event Martin and I concocted was The Mr. Nude Seattle Contest.

You must remember that this was before Grindr, Scruff, smart phones, cell phones – NO Internet – and only hustlers and plumbers had beepers. So the prospect of seeing that guy you always see at the gym or the bar or in class or wherever naked was a pretty novel thing in those days.

The first year we held it at Club Seattle (now Steamworks). Surprisingly enough

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 3

see MARTIN DIVELEY page 5

2018 State of the Hill address, fundraiser and Spirit Award Spirit Award nominees include GSBA’s Louise Chernin The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce this year’s State of the Hill address will be held on Wednesday, February 21st, from 6 to 9pm at Queer/Bar (1518 11th Ave.). We look forward to this event each year, and invite chamber members, local businesses, public officials and other Hill-folk to gather to hear the State of the Hill address and celebrate all things Capitol Hill over local fare and cocktails.

State of the Hill is our annual fundraiser and the biggest and best social event of the year for our members! We’ll celebrate the past year with the organizations and individuals who make Capitol Hill a fun, safe, diverse and vibrant place to visit, live and relax.

We’ll review all that we have accomplished in the past year and share exciting news about what’s to come in our State of the Hill address.

We’ll have a champagne greeting; cocktail hour featuring cold drafts from Redhook Brewlab and wine from Aluel Cellars; and small bites from Big Mario’s, Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge, Poquitos, and Rhein Haus. We’ll also have coffee and sweets by Honor Society Coffee, Cafe Pettirosso and Nuflours Bakery.

The cast of MX. will star in our very own queer/drag performance for State of the Hill with Lucy Tealheart Paradisco, Stacey Starstruck, Abbey Roads! Check out thequeerbar. com for more details about the cast and show!

Guests can bid in a silent auction to win fun items donated by neighborhood merchants; personal shopping packages by Ada’s Technical Books, Cupcake Royale’s Gaybie Cakes, Mariners tickets, VIP tickets to the Golden Girls LIVE show, an overnight stay at Silvercloud Hotel, 70 min facial

at Cake Skincare, Queer/Bar Pride package, and more! Featured item: “Morning till Night Package!” Guild Seattle & Block Party will provide two guests with VIP access to the three-day festival and a day of VIP treatment! Start your day at Lost Lake Café and Lounge for a complimentary breakfast for two, including Bloody Mary’s and pitcher of Mimosa. After breakfast head straight into the festival to experience the music while enjoying a $200 dollar comp tab at The Comet Tavern.

We will present the Spirit Award to an individual that has shown an outstanding commitment to the Capitol Hill community in 2017. The Spirit Award represents the best of Capitol Hill through community service, excellence, and passion for this neighborhood. This year’s nominees: Alex Brennan (for strong community work in Capitol Hill), Louise Chernin (for dedication to small business and commitment to non-profit work), Brie Gyncild (for leadership surrounding safe streets for pedestrians and bicycles) and Tracy Taylor (for small business advocacy).

Tickets: $35 Chamber Members, $45 Non-Members – on sale in advance at stateofthehill2018.brownpapertickets.com and at the door.

The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce is committed to supporting an economically vital, livable community and promoting Capitol Hill as a unique urban neighborhood that is welcoming to everyone.

Courtesy of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce

2018 Black History Month gathering to be held Feb. 24 “Resilience in the Black Community: What Gives Us Strength?”

On Saturday, February 24, from 10am-3pm, Mount Zion Baptist Church hosts a 2018 Black History Month gathering – “Resilience in the Black Community: What Gives Us Strength?” – with keynote speakers Police Chief Carmen Best, renown historian Quintard Taylor, and Dr. Michele Andrasik, known for her advocacy work on behalf of women with HIV. Police Chief Carmen Best is Seattle’s first female African American to hold this position; historian Quintard Taylor is an expert on black settlement in the Pacific Northwest and King County; Dr. Michele Andrasik is a social scientist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who is known for her work on behalf of women with HIV. Other speakers include Dr. Bessie Young, Christopher Moore, George Dicks, Linda Chastine, Mattie Taplin and Louis Shackelford.

In addition to the featured presentations, FREE HIV and Hepatitis C and other health screenings will be offered. Information will also be provided on diabetes and other health-related issues.

The program includes a free lunch catered by “Satisfied Palate.”

Mount Zion Baptist Church is located at 1634 19th Ave. just south of E. Madison St. Everyone is welcome to attend this FREE community gathering. For more information, please call 206-6670-6360.

Courtesy of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

4 Seattle Gay News

February 16, 2018

Celebrating 44 Years!

MARTIN DIVELEY continued from page 3

it wasn’t the right atmosphere. The second year was held in the aforementioned garage of the Richmark Building at 12th & Pine; next to the liquor store and SGN’s offices.

We made it through with flying colors. They always say “third time’s a charm” because we found our home for the next nine years at the Langston Hughes Cultural Theatre.

But enough about Martin’s endless dedication to his community; his concern that everyone in the entire gender spectrum be treated with the same dignity and respect – long before it was the “cause du jour”; and always the one to stick up for the underdog – no one was ever going to be

bullied or belittled on his watch. Martin’s gracious and giving spirit touched so many people. He was never one to “toot his own horn” with his many accomplishments in his day-to-day life as a well respected and beloved hair stylist and instructor. If you don’t believe me, take a scroll through his Facebook page – have a tissue handy.

I had fallen out of touch with Martin for longer than I would like to admit when out of the blue I got a message from him saying he’d like to put on The Mr. Nude Seattle Contest again. It had been over a decade since we’d done the last show – times had changed but he hadn’t – his drive and “let’s do this” work ethic was in top form. The only hiccup was it wasn’t as easy to get local business sponsors as it used to be. And I hadn’t worked with Absolut’s causative

sponsorships for years. We pow-wowed on the phone, called in a few favors and came up with the means to do the event. It was great fun having everyone back again, laughing backstage with Latrina Bidet and Ed, Martin’s long-suffering-steadfasthusband, about the shows and events from years past. But something was different – Martin’s glow wasn’t as beamingly bright as in years past. I sensed that there were things he wasn’t going to and didn’t want to discuss.

At the end of the night I gave him a big hug saying “whatever, whenever, wherever – I’m always just a phone call, or email, or text, or smoke signals, or really loud holler away!!” Unfortunately, that was the last time I was to see my friend Martin. As with everything these days – I learned he had

passed from a post on my Facebook feed. I was immediately overtaken with grief and loss, crying into my hands.

It wasn’t more than a moment had passed though before an image of Martin popped into my head, and he gave me one of those smiles and said, “Stop crying, you silly queen. I’m fine – look at me! I look twenty years younger! So no more tears.

Just remember all the good times we shared and all the good we gave. Keep it going!”

R. Martin Allen-Diveley is survived by his father, Clarence Diveley, and his husband of 17 years, Ed Allen-Diveley.

k.d. lang wows the crowd at a fundraiser at The Hardware Store on Vashon in 2012 – Photo courtesy of Vashon Beachcomber

k.d. lang

continued from cover Why Vashon? Her manager, and parttime island resident for the past 14 years Steve Jensen, said it’s simple. “k.d. loves Vashon. She is genuinely excited to do this show,” he said. “Once I bought my place here, she started to visit me – she is my client and also best friend.

She and I decided the band would rehearse here and do a benefit for the Land Trust and Vashon Center for the Arts. The decision felt both special and natural.” lang agreed.

“I have lots of good friends on Vashon, so I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out and holidaying on the island,” lang said during a recent phone interview. “I try to make Vashon a place I go to.”

Perhaps because of her small-town roots in Alberta, Canada, lang said she loves the Pacific Northwest, a love she shares with Jensen, so the decision to benefit the VashonMaury Land Trust was an easy one.

“Taking care of and preserving the land is a priority,” said lang, who is both a vegetarian and animal rights advocate. “The fertile soil, how Vashon once had strawberry farms and now has lots of vegetable farms, that’s a priority – to focus on growing food.”

Choosing Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) as the second nonprofit recipient was another no-brainer.

“It just makes sense to promote art and artists in a beautiful place with a great community – to cultivate the arts on Vashon – and to have such a great venue to perform in,” she said.

Yet whether it’s before a crowd of

100,000 at the opening games of the 2010 Winter Olympics while performing an exquisite and powerful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” or singing in the smaller, 300-seat Vashon Center for the Arts Katherine L. White Hall, for lang the feeling doesn’t change.

“It sounds contrived, but really it is the same,” she said. “Singing is about integrity, motivation and authenticity.”

It is about being present and connecting with the audience, she said. And she does so with inimitable style – barefoot – unless, of course, it’s the East Wing of the White House, where she once performed for President Obama’s Christmas dinner.

“There are times when it is inappropriate,” lang said with a full-on laugh, “but I’ll definitely be barefoot on Vashon.”

Like her 2017 Australian and Canadian tour, “Ingénue Redux” celebrates the 25th anniversary of her Grammy-award winning and platinum-selling album, “Ingénue,” and the Nonesuch Records release of the re-mastered version of her 1992 album that includes mega-hits like “Constant Craving” and “Miss Chatelaine.” lang and her band will perform the entire original album in sequence, followed by other familiar songs.

Australian classical guitarist Slava Grigoryan, whose music lang really likes and believes fits well with her own music, will open the show.

So after 25 years of success and musical exploration from country to pop, collaboration with the likes of Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett, Elton John, Anne Murray and Ann Wilson plus multiple Juno and Grammy awards, what’s it like for the artist to revisit her early music?

“It’s like finding a comfortable pair of

Visit us online www.sgn.org

shoes you’ve ignored for the past 25 years.

It’s super familiar and yet really challenging,” she said. “But in prep for the tour, I thought about what it means to have an audience that has existed with the record and their own emotions and history (connected to it). I didn’t want to superimpose any other emotions on top, so I’ll deliver the songs as clean and matter of fact as possible.”

That thoughtfulness of others seems in keeping with lang’s close to two decades of Tibetan Buddhist practice in the Nyingma tradition. Though not a practicing Buddhist when she wrote “Ingenue,” she now finds her practice and music to be inseparable.

“Music is part of my practice, and I see it as an offering,” she said. “My relationship to music has changed. I don’t try to own, contain or control it. It is an offering or a teaching when I go out to sing. It’s in a space of less attachment to the outcome, more in tune with the actual experience of it. I’m not saying I’ve mastered it, but I have shifted to the more fluid and non-contrived experience for myself.” lang’s – and Jensen’s – beneficence to the island includes waving her artistic fees and donating all proceeds to the two nonprofits.

Her organization, in collaboration with the Land Trust and Vashon Center for the Arts, set ticket prices by balancing availability with raising significant funds for both organizations. A $500 VIP level includes front row seating and a “meet and greet” with the artist. Other tickets were set at $250 and $80.

(The $80 tickets are sold out.) Tickets for her show at Seattle’s Moore Theatre on Monday, February 26, currently range from $47 to $122.

“We are honored by k.d. lang’s gift and generosity,” said Land Trust Executive Direc-

tor Tom Dean. “We will direct funds from the benefit to planting our first crop at Matsuda Farm, the harvests of which will go to the food bank and to restoration and trail building in the growing Judd Creek Preserve. We are most excited to be in the audience, as well.”

Vashon Center for the Arts Executive Director Susan Warner echoed Dean’s sentiment.

“We are so honored to be beneficiaries of this great artist and music icon. We will utilize these funds for supporting the care and upkeep of the Blue Heron and to further our arts education programming.

It is an honor to host her in our wonderful performance hall.”

As for lang, who over the years has participated in Frisbee golf tournaments here and even “lost a couple of discs,” Vashon feels like home.

“The whole Pacific Northwest is where my heart and soul is, so Vashon is a place I love.”

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 5

k.d. lang will perform at 7:30pm Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23 and 24, at Vashon Center for the Arts Katherine L. White Hall. 19600 Vashon Highway SW, Vashon WA. Available tickets are $250 and $500. Visit vashoncenterforthearts.org to purchase a ticket.

Courtesy of the Vashion Beachcomber (originally published January 18, 2018)

6 Seattle Gay News

February 16, 2018

Celebrating 44 Years!

VETERANS

continued from cover near the Wall St. parking garage across the street from Anthony’s Pier 66 restaurant in Belltown. All LGBTQ veterans are invited to attend.

“This is not the VA of 10 or 15 years ago,” said Mr. Johnnie Hawkins, Legal Administration Specialist with the Veterans Benefit Administration, part of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

One of the purposes of the meeting is to establish a social network of care for LGBTQ veterans in the Greater Seattle and Puget Sound region as well as provide an opportunity to learn about what services the VA is currently offering to LGBTQ veterans. The VA also hopes to learn how the VA can better serve the underserved population of LGBTQ veterans in the Puget Sound region.

At the meeting, Johnnie will discuss the current array of VA services for LGBTQ veterans, including counseling, benefits, and discharge upgrades. On the medical side, the VA also provides social support groups for LGBTQ veterans, including male, female, trans, and HIV-positive veterans.

Another goal of the meeting is to determine how many medical care providers are seeing veterans in the community in a nonVA setting, and if the providers are asking the

right questions when first seeing the veterans.

Also in attendance at the meeting will be a representative of the Washington State Dept of Veterans Affairs.

And at the end of the meeting, Johnnie plans to show a Northwest-made documentary film, Breaking The Silence, about the lives, struggles, and successes of Oregon LGBTQ veterans.

This will be a great opportunity to meet up with other LGBTQ veterans in the Greater Seattle and Puget Sound region

Visit us online www.sgn.org

and to learn more about what benefits and services the VA can provide you, including, if you suffered the indignity of an unfavorable discharge under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” or prior to DADT, because of your sexual orientation, discharge upgrades.

Mr. Johnnie Hawkins can be reached at 206-341-8593.

Ron Rasmussen is Vice-President of Portland-based Veterans for Human Rights (VFHR) (www.vfhr.org) and also through VFHR helps coordinate the annual Color Guard at the Seattle and Portland Pride Parades.

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 7

8 Seattle Gay News

February 16, 2018

Celebrating 44 Years!

DAILY DEALS

Owner Discount Days are February 17-25!

Central Co-op owners take 10% off one shopping trip during our quarterly savings event.

DEALS L A I C E P S PPERS O H S L L FOR A OWNER DISCOUNT DAYS IS MAY 7-15!

Don’t miss our

DAILY DEALS

Central Co-op owners take 10% off one shopping trip during Owner Discount Days!

CHOCOLOVE

C20

CHOCOLATE BARS

COCONUT WATER

Limit 12

3.2oz

Reg. $3.49 ea

While supplies last.

In-store only.

Prices do not apply to case orders.

central

co-op

16th & Madison St, Seattle • Open 6am - midnight • centralcoop.coop

Visit us online www.sgn.org

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 9

REGISTER TO VOTE

W W W.VOTE .GOV 10 Seattle Gay News

February 16, 2018

Celebrating 44 Years!

Photo by Sara D. Davis / Getty

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos – Photo by Mario Tama / Getty

DEPT. OF ED. continued from cover

saying its position was that that Title IX – a federal civil rights law – did not protect Transgender students.

The Obama administration ruled that Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination also covered gender identity, and on that basis it supported Trans students’ legal complaints against school districts that restricted their access to gender-appropriate facilities.

As with other federal policies, things changed when Trump was inaugurated.

In February 2017, the Trump administration said in a memo that it would “consider the legal issues involved” in Title IX complaints, but last June, the Department of Education issued another memo saying it was “permissible” for its civil

rights division to dismiss a Trans student’s restroom case.

Trump officials have still not formally stated their intention to reject all restroomrelated complaints from Trans students, but their February 8 email is the most comprehensive statement to date of their intentions.

According to Holden, the email came as a result of three weeks’ worth of attempts to get clarification from the Trump Department of Education on its legal interpretation of Title IX. Finally on February 8, department spokesperson Liz Hill replied “Yes, that’s what the law says” when asked if the Education Department believes that restroom-related discrimination complaints from Transgender students are not covered

by Title IX. Asked for further explanation of the department’s position, Hill wrote defini-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Protesters rally to support Transgender students – Photo by Derek R. Henkle / AFP / Getty

tively on February 9 that “Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity.”

According to Holden, she added that some Transgender discrimination complaints may be investigated, but not bathroom complaints.

“Where students, including transgender students, are penalized or harassed for failing to conform to sex-based stereotypes, that is sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX,” Hill said.

“In the case of bathrooms, however, longstanding regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX.” The Trump administration’s analysis of Title IX is dubious and contradicts relevant case law, according to Catherine Lhamon, who led the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights during the Obama administration.

“Until now, the official position of the Department has been that Title IX protects all students and that they were evaluating how that protection applies to the issue of bathroom access,” she said in an email to BuzzFeed News.

“This new categorical bar of civil rights protection for transgender children required to attend schools every day ignores the text of the law, courts’ interpretation of the law, the stated position of the Department to date, and human decency.”

The Education Department’s reading of Title IX also conflicts with rulings by two federal circuit courts, which held that Title IX guarantees Transgender students’ access to restrooms matching their gender identity.

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 11

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Adam Rippon performs his free program in the figure skating team event at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. – Photo courtesy of Getty

ADAM RIPPON continued from cover

in every interview and performance. Back in 2010, we had Johnny Weir, who wasn’t officially Out yet. But with Rippon, he is just acting himself. From bonding with Out skier, Gus Kenworthy, or flirting with Out Canadian skater, Eric Radford on the podium after winning the Bronze, while Radford won gold, to being downright straightforward and refusing to meet or acknowledge Vice-President Mike Pence, we can’t get enough of Rippon and he has already made history. Here are some of his and Kenworthy’s best quotes: February 9th “The #OpeningCeremony is a wrap and the 2018 Winter Olympic Gaymes are officially under way!” he wrote. “I feel incredibly honored to be here in Korea competing for the US and I’m so proud to be representing the LGBTQ community alongside this amazing guy! Eat your heart out, Pence. #TeamUSA #TeamUSGay” – Kenworthy “Tonight I walked in the #OpeningCeremony and got to watch my old friend @Yunaaaa light the Olympic flame. Representing the USA is one of the greatest honors of my life and being able to do it as my authentic self makes it all so much sweeter.” – Rippon February 11th On condoms in the Olympic Village “Like, I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting. I thought maybe they’d have like Olympic rings on them or they’d be all different colors. But, no. It’s all a myth,” – Rippon February 12th When VP Pence tweeted @Adaripp I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get ‘em!”

Rippon responded that he has no interest in meeting after the Olympics with Pence, the former Indiana governor who has been

12 Seattle Gay News

Always quotable, Adam Rippon speaks at a press conference. – Photo courtesy of Getty

perceived as showing a lack of support of LGBT rights and once supporting so-called gay conversion therapy.

“I’m going to go to Target and I’m going to get a bottle of Sauvignon blanc, Oyster Bay, with the twist top, immediately.” – Rippon February 13th Press Conference with Adam Rippon On Valentine’s Day “Nobody loves me as much as I love me; so I guess I’ll just be my own Valentine tomorrow.”

On newfound superstardom “The other day I was joking to one of my friends. He was like, ‘You’re kind of everywhere right now.’ I was like, ‘I know; I’m America’s sweetheart.’ He laughed in my face.”

On confidence (and Oprah) “Sometimes when you’re not confident in yourself, to see someone who doesn’t care – and I don’t care anymore; I really don’t care – it gives you that confidence.

I remember seeing people who I thought were so confident and exuberant. I remember being young and watching Oprah and being like, ‘Damn. That lady is so confident. She can talk to anybody.’”

On coping with depression “To watch Mirai Nagasu go out there and also skate a clean free skate... I mean, we’ve really been through a lot together.

Four years ago, we were eating In-N-Out on the roof of her house in Arcadia, Cali-

February 16, 2018

Adam Rippon won a bronze medal in the team event, and fellow openly Gay figure skater Eric Radford won a gold medal for Canada. – Photo courtesy of Getty

fornia, and we were crying that we weren’t at the Olympics. And four years later, we’re sharing an Olympic podium together. So, if you’re ever depressed, go to In-N-Out, and four years later you’ll be at the Olympics!”

On the age difference between his teammates “Vincent and I were born in different millennia. We were! I was born in the ’80s, girl... No electronics. No phone. The Berlin Wall came down when I was, like, born. The internet was, like, invented when Vincent was born. So we’re definitely different.”

On the haters and skeptics “People have told me, ‘Oh, you’re a lot different than what I thought.’ I say, ‘Oh, what did you think?’ They’re like, ‘Oh, we just thought you were an ass.’ I’m like, ‘Oh… yikes.’ I’m just trying to share who I am, my personality... Sometimes I might meet people and they might just not like me, not want to get to know me. And that’s okay.

They’re boring as hell anyway.”

Celebrating 44 Years!

Adam Rippon gets the crowd pumped up after his short program in the figure skating men’s singles event at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. – Photo courtesy of Getty

Visit us online www.sgn.org

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 13

religion & spirituality

HOME services

14 Seattle Gay News

Health services

February 16, 2018

Celebrating 44 Years!

MoSS Alley MotorS, Inc. SpecialiStS in VolVo, Honda, toyota and Subaru

932 12th ave.

Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

February 16, 2018

Seattle Gay News 15