Back Off, Ladies: Johnny Weir Is Gay

By Sarah Crow Posted Jan 6th 2011 03:00PM

In what may be the most shocking news you will hear all year, ice skater and sequin enthusiast Johnny Weir has come out as a homosexual.

AfterElton reports that Weir has finally admitted that he is gay after years of dodging the issue in the press. In 2006, when asked about his sexuality by a fan on his website, Weir responded, "I don't feel the need to express my sexual being because it's not part of my sport and it's private. I can sleep with whomever I choose and it doesn't affect what I'm doing on the ice."

However, in excerpts given to PEOPLE from in his upcoming memoir, 'Welcome to My World,' Weir writes, "With people killing themselves and being scared into the closet, I hope that even just one person can gain strength from my story."

The skater now openly declares, "In a sexual way, I'm gay."

Despite his recent frankness, in this week's question and answer session on his site, Weir told fans the question he wishes people would stop asking him is, "Do you do all this for attention, or are you really just born this way?" He responded: "I do what I want and how I want because I was born to live my life."

The star's theatrical skating style and fashion-forward looks caused many to question his sexuality throughout his career, even prompting cruel comments from Quebecois sports broadcasters Claude Mailhot and Alain Goldberg, who suggested that Weir "sets a bad example" for young male skaters. Mailhot even went as far as to say that Weir should undergo gender testing and that he should skate against female competitors.

Disappointed, but undeterred, Weir told PEOPLE, "It wasn't these two men criticizing my skating, it was them criticizing me as a person. ... Masculinity is what you believe it to be."

In his book, Weir admits to not only being comfortable with himself, but living his life with pride. "I'm not ashamed to be me. More than anyone else I know, I love my life and accept myself," he writes. "What's wrong with being unique? I am proud of everything that I am and will become."

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