Gus Kenworthy: My Childhood Self Wouldn't Have Dreamed Of Seeing A Gay Kiss on TV At The Olympics
U.S. slopestyle skier Gus Kenworthy kissed his boyfriend, Matthew Wilkas, before a qualifying run on Sunday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Kenworthy shared the image on Twitter about how he was unaware that made the television broadcast around the world.
"Didn't realize this moment was being filmed yesterday but I'm so happy that it was." Kenworthy tweeted. "My childhood self would never have dreamed of seeing a gay kiss on TV at the Olympics but for the first time ever a kid watching at home CAN! Love is love is love."
Wilkas also told TIME's Sean Gregory that it was good that the kiss was broadcasted.
“It’s good that it’s televised because it normalizes it more," Wilkas said. "I would imagine it would be a huge moment for a young gay kid to see an awesome athlete so open and proud of himself and not caring what anyone thinks of his sexuality.”
Kenworthy did not medal in the slopestyle final. He won a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and came out a year later on the cover of ESPN the Magazine.
Kenworthy and figure skater Adam Rippon are the first openly gay U.S. athletes to compete at the Winter Olympics.
