Is Johnny Weir the Adam Lambert of Figure Skating?

Is Johnny Weir the Adam Lambert of figure skating? Although the Olympic men's figure skating competition is over, Johnny Weir is not out of the headlines yet.

Johnny Weir spent the weekend defending himself against television commentators who implied that he was too flamboyantly gay for figure skating and that he set a bad example for young boys. According to People, the commentators worried that boys might grow up thinking that figure skaters had to be as flamboyant as Johnny Weir. They also joked that he should take a gender test and compete with the women.

New York Daily News readers were quick to defend Weir and to compare him to the talented but often misunderstood Adam Lambert. As one reader commented, "He's the Adam Lambert of the ice. It's 2010. Live and let live. Who's he hurting?"

Interestingly enough, one of Johnny Weir's biggest defenders was Adam Lambert himself. Adam Lambert praised Weir as a trailblazer for figure skating. As he told Access Hollywood, "He's comfortable in his own skin, clearly. And he's expressing himself. I think that's what art's all about."

It's difficult not to see parallels between Johnny Weir and Adam Lambert. Both are enormously talented, fashionably daring, unabashedly flamboyant, often misunderstood, and equally polarizing.

Neither Johnny Weir nor Adam Lambert seem to fit into the cookie cutter image of their respective niches. Although he is a talented skater, his daring fashion efforts, effeminate style, and shockingly quotable comments have been a recurring source of controversy in sport in the figure skating world.

Although Johnny delivered two clean, flowing, and exuberant performances at the Olympics, judges gave him questionably low composition scores, causing viewers to wonder if personal prejudices somehow worked against him in the competition. Judges also seem to prefer skaters such as Evan Lysacek or Patrick Chan who are neither too feminine (like the pink-tasseled Lady Gaga-worshipping Weir) nor too masculine (like karate-dancing Elvis Stojko).

Similarly, Adam Lambert is a departure from the more traditional image of an American Idol. The mascara-wearing, openly gay glam rocker is a far cry from the girl next door singers like Kelly Clarkson (pop-rock) and Carrie Underwood (pop-country).

Although Adam Lambert was arguably more talented, more charismatic, and had more star power, viewers went with the safer more conventional choice of Kris Allen.

What's interesting about both Johnny Weir and Adam Lambert is that while they are both known for pushing the envelope, they both come across as surprisingly mild-mannered and soft-spoken. On the one hand, Weir was defiant against the critical commentators. As he told People, "It wasn't these two men criticizing my skating, it was them criticizing me as a person, and that was something that really, frankly, pissed me off."

Yet we've also seen Johnny Weir pick his battles. After receiving questionably low marks from the judges after his Olympic free skate, her continued to be all smiles. Unlike Evgeni Plushenko, he never complained about the scores or questioned the judging.

Similarly, Adam Lambert was surprisingly soft-spoken and classy after the American Music Awards controversy. On his interview at The View, he defended himself by arguing that it was not his responsibility to be a baby-sitter, but he was also polite, respectful and willing to acknowledge both sides of the debate.

While Johnny Weir and Adam Lambert are unique artists in their own right, the parallels are interesting. Given Adam Lambert's respect for the figure skater, he would probably take such comparisons as a compliment.

Sources:

Figure skater Johnny Weir lashes back at broadcasters who suggests he 'sets a bad example', New York Daily News

Johnny Weir Responds to Mocking Broadcaster, People

Adam Lambert On Johnny Weir: 'He's A Trailblazer', Access Hollywood