Rippon not only helped the United States win a bronze medal in the skating team event at the Winter Olympics, becoming the first openly gay U.S. male athlete to win a medal in a Winter Games, but he became a star. Time Magazine ran a story headlined, “Adam Rippon stole everyone’s hearts during the Olympics.” He blew up on social media, and he made the rounds of TV talk shows, sitting down with Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Colbert and the women of “The View,” among others.
While many viewers assume figure skaters have a leg up in the competition — even the current all-athletes version — Johnson said dancers and skaters come from “completely different worlds.