Olympic skater deletes tweet on looting
On Sunday evening, in the midst of protests and violence across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd, well-known NBC figure skating commentator Johnny Weir sent out a tweet that read, in part, “I shouldn’t have to go to bed with a loaded gun nearby,” ending it with two hashtags: #ICantBreathe and #StopLooting.
The full tweet, since deleted, said this: “I understand that I’ll never understand. I understand that you’ll never understand. Make peace. Love your people. I shouldn’t have to go to bed with a loaded gun nearby. #ICantBreathe #StopLooting”
As a series of comments criticizing the tweet built in the early-morning hours, Weir sent another tweet at 4:55 a.m.: “Just awoke in the night and realized I made a major typo/error and that completely changed what I was trying to express. I didn’t check it again before I slept & was horrified when I saw my blunder. Please excuse me.”
He did not explain what the major typo/error was.
Weir, a three-time U.S. national champion and two-time Olympian, did not reply to a request for comment made through NBC public relations. Network spokesperson Dan Masonson emailed that Weir’s manager said “he’s busy on a job today.”
Three days before Weir’s tweet, twotime U.S. national champion and 2018 Olympic ice dancer Zach Donohue wrote this: “Humanity needs an update #AllLivesMatter #takeastand #enoughisenough”
Several hours later, after receiving a series of critical replies on Twitter, he sent another tweet saying he had deleted the #AllLivesMatter tweet.
“First, I want to admit clearly that my tweet was a mistake. An uneducated, poorly thought out reaction. While I cannot undo or defend what was actually tweeted, I want to clarify that my intention was not to in anyway detract from the #blacklivesmatter movement. And most certainly not to support any movement or peoples that would stand against equality or try to belittle the very real racism and white privilege existing in our world.”
In another figure skating social media development, three-time world champion Evgeni Plushenko appeared on his official Instagram account wearing a gray T-shirt featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
It’s unlikely there will be an apology for that one.