Adam Rippon slams disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong’s comments about trans people in sport
“I don’t need to hear what the greatest cheater in American history has to say about what he thinks is an unfair advantage.”
Figure skater Adam Rippon has slammed anti-trans comments from disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
The pair were taking part in Fox’s reality series Stars on Mars when the topic of trans athletes arose.
The show sees celebrities, athletes and personalities placed in a mock Mars pod competing to be the ‘Brightest Star in the Galaxy.’
On Monday (10 July) night’s episode, Armstrong shared his thoughts that trans athletes should have a separate category.
His perspective led to a confrontation which appalled his cast mates.
Armstrong told WWE’s Ronda Rousey that he recently was on a podcast discussing “transgender stuff in sports.”
“I said, ‘Listen, this is real simple: You want to transition, let’s do it. You have your own category,'” he shared. “‘We’re gonna have a whole new division. We’ll celebrate you just like we celebrate everybody else. Let’s go.’ What’s unfair about that?”
Armstrong’s legendary status in cycling was toppled when he admitted to doping throughout his sports career.
Singer Tinashe steps in to address Armstrong’s declaration. She noted: “To me, I think we just have to care about if you otherize people. It’s not good for their mental health.”
Armstrong fired back: “Actually, no, we’re not excluding anybody. And, by the way, I sound like a right-wing lunatic. I’m not. I’m the most liberal person.”
“I don’t need to hear what the greatest cheater in American history has to say about what he thinks is an unfair advantage”
Rippon was also listening from the sidelines. He says to Modern Family’s Ariel Winter: “That is so disheartening.”
“Those comments here, in this experiment, have completely shifted the energy and completely shifted the focus. I will not ever forget them,” he also continued in a talking head.
The openly gay former Olympian told the Daily Beast: “Nobody wanted to have this conversation. Especially on this cute little reality show where we all had to live together for weeks on end.”
“I don’t need to hear what the greatest cheater in American history has to say about what he thinks is an unfair advantage.”
Rippon also noted that Winter had off-camera conversations where she confronted Armstrong’s perspective.