Athletes from the US Winter Olympic team were invited to the White House early Friday morning to celebrate their athletic achievements.
But two public figures were noticably absent from attendance: openly gay figure skater Adam Rippon (who quite firmly penned his sentiments with the Presidential visit on President Trump's favorite podium of communication, Twitter) and openly gay freeskier Gus Kenworthy.
\u201cOlympians from the 2018 Games have been invited to go to the White House today. I will not be going. I will not stand with people who discriminate against those that they perceive as different. In lieu of going to DC, I have donated to a few of my favorite causes \ud83d\ude46\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f https://t.co/qDXqswTHdF\u201d— Adam Rippon (@Adam Rippon) 1524840700
\u201cAll US Olympians and Paralympians are invited to visit the White House and meet the President after the Games. Today is this year's visit and USOC spokesperson says he's never seen so many athletes turn down their invites. The resistance is real. https://t.co/6mKJGicWDS\u201d— Gus Kenworthy (@Gus Kenworthy) 1524766999
Rippon openly feuded with Vice President Mike Pence for his questionable track record with LGBTQ rights before and during the duration of the Winter Games earlier this year.
Instead, Rippon spent Friday morning donating to LGBTQ friendly organizations in defiance, stating on social media:
\u201cIf you want to join me and you\u2019re able to give a little, go for it! I think when we\u2019re able to help each other out and do what we can to lift each other up, that\u2019s when we\u2019re truly making America great \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u201d— Adam Rippon (@Adam Rippon) 1524840700
Adam Schiff (L), Letitia James (C), and James Comey (R) — all political opponents of Trump indicted or investigated on dubious accusations.Sheila Fitzgerald/Shuttershock.com; lev radin/Shuttershock.com; mark reinstein/Shuttershock.com
PFLAG National CEO Brian K. Bond and Edith Guffey, chair of the PFLAG National board of directors.Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG National
Former Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Barney Frank addressing a crowd at a PFLAG event.Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG National
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters talks about her relationship with former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG National
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters accepting a PFLAG award.Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG National
Former Rep. Barney Frank and Kathleen Sengstock.Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG National
Rep. Maxine Waters and PFLAG National CEO Brian K. Bond.Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG National
L-R: Jim McGreevey, Jolanda Jones, Erica DeusoJamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images; ericadeuso.com
