Arts & Entertainment
Gus Kenworthy says he and Adam Rippon ‘will be friends for life’
the out athletes connected on social media and became close
Gus Kenworthy and Adam Rippon have started a lifelong friendship.
Kenworthy, 26, told People that he and Rippon, 28, “will be friends for life.”
The pair originally bonded because they were two openly gay athletes competing in the Winter Olympics.
āUs becoming friends just happened kind of naturally,ā Kenworthy says. āThe first time I heard about him was because he was one of the other openly gay athletes trying to make it to the Games. And so I started following him and he was following me, and we started exchanging messages and catching up on each otherās qualifying processes and rooting each other on.ā
āItās a stressful time in any athleteās life, and we were sort of dealing with the same pressures,ā he adds. āSo I think we had a lot to kind of connect over.ā
After connecting on social media, the athletes met in person and immediately clicked.
āIt was just like sparks flying, like instant friends, fast friends,ā Kenworthy says.āI love the guy. I think heās hilarious, I think heās so sweet, so charming, so Iām very excited about our friendship.ā
However, Kenworthy wants everyone to know they are just friends.
“People really think weāre dating,ā Kenworthy, who is in a relationship with Matthew Wilkas, says.
āI was like, āI mean, I think heās [Wilkas] okay with it, like weāve been together for two-and-a-half years so I donāt know,ā Maybe like throuple [three-way couple]? I donāt know, I mean Iām open to it. Itās 2018,” Kenworthy jokes.
Kenworthy continued that he thinks it’s important to support Rippon and the LGBT community making an impact.
āI think I wanted to show support for him, because I am so proud of him and Iām so proud of our entire LGBT community, regardless of whether itās in sports or elsewhere,ā Kenworthy says. āBut I think itās important in sports, where we have pretty minimal representation, to kind of stand beside each other and make sure that our impact can be great.ā
a&e features
Full-spectrum funny: an interview with Randy Rainbow
New book āLow-Hanging Fruitā delivers the laughs
Can we all agree that thereās nothing worse than reading a book by a humorist and not laughing? Not even once. Fear not, as gay humorist and performer Randy Rainbow more than exceeded my expectations, as he will yours, with his hilarious new book āLow-Hanging Fruitā (St. Martinās Press, 2024). If you loved his 2022 memoir āPlaying With Myself,ā youāll find as much, if not more to love in the new book. His trademark sense of humor from his videos, transfers with ease to the page in the essays. There are multiple laugh-out-loud moments throughout the two-dozen essays. Always a delight to talk to, Randy made time for an interview shortly before the publication of the book.
BLADE: I want to begin by apologizing for putting you on speakerphone so I can get this interview recorded, because I know you are not fond of it as you pointed out in the āAnd While Weāre On the Subjectā¦ā essay in your new book.
RANDY RAINBOW: [Laughs] Thank you for paying attention. But yours is a good speakerphone. I would not have known.
BLADE: Your first book, āPlaying With Myself,ā was a memoir and the new book, āLow-Hanging Fruit,ā is a humorous essay collection. Did it feel like you were exercising different writing muscles than you did for the first book ā essays versus memoir?
RAINBOW: It did a little bit. I think I had a little more fun writing this book. Save for the fact that I was shlepping around on tour as I also make well known in the book. That wasnāt fun. To not have the, I hate to say burden, but the responsibility of doing a chronological memoir, really getting everything right and then telling your story. I felt like I was just free to shoot the shit and have a little fun.
BLADE: Were these essays written in one creative burst or over the course of years?
RAINBOW: Over the course of a few months. The second half of my tour is when I started doing it. So, probably about five to six months.
BLADE: The first essay āLetter of Resignationā reminded me of Fran Lebowitzā¦
RAINBOW: Iām so glad.
BLADE: And then, lo and behold, you name-check Fran in the second essay āGurl, Youāre A Karen.ā Do you consider her to be an influence on your work?
RAINBOW: Not directly. I’m a fan of hers. But I just feel sympatico with her for all the obvious reasons. I have a problem with everything [laughs] and being able to be funny and creative about it in this book was very cathartic, I felt.
BLADE: Something similar occurred when I was reading the essay āI Feel Bad About My Balls,ā which recalled another humor essayist ā Nora Ephron, whom you mention at the conclusion of the piece. Is she an influence?
RAINBOW: Again, a fan. I wouldn’t say she ever directly influenced me although I guess since becoming an author myself, I read all of her books, so I love her. But not a direct influence. I think I listened to her audiobook of āI Feel Bad About My Neckā and that’s what inspired that chapter.
BLADE: Do you know if Jacob Elordi is aware of his presence in the book?
RAINBOW:I would assume that word has gotten back to him. This is gonna make him!
BLADE: In āRider? I Hardly Know Her,ā you wrote about being on tour as you are about to, once again, embark on a tour throughout October. Do you consider this more of a book tour, as opposed to one of your stage tours?
RAINBOW: It absolutely is. The way it worked out was Iām doing two of my concert shows in Palm Desert. I start my book events here with Harvey Fierstein in New York and then fly to the West Coast and do two musical concerts and then I embark on the rest of my book tour as I make my way back to New York. In that regard, it’s a little less nauseating ā¦ taxing.
Yes, although I just finished an eight-month tour. I’ve only had the summer off, and I find myself having to remind myself, āYou’re just going for a week, going for a week, and then you come home, and that’s it. I have PTSD from all that travel. Iām not built for it.
BLADE: Iām based in Fort Lauderdale. Are there additional dates in the works, including one in your former home of South Florida?
RAINBOW: That’s where I’m from! Thatās where my mother is still located.
BLADE: Yes, we saw you here at the Broward Center, and your mom was there.
RAINBOW: Thatās right! No South Florida dates for this tour, but there’s always next year. We’re already planning a few strategically placed tour dates for summer and fall of next year. I’ll definitely be in Florida then, but youāll have to wait for it.
BLADE: āNotes From A Litter Box,ā written in the voice of your cat Tippi, made me wonder if youād agree that there has never been a better time than now to be a childless cat person.
RAINBOW: Isn’t it funny? That was the least political chapter in the book, the least controversial chapter, and now it’s all anyoneās talking about. It’s our time! What with Taylor Swift and everything, it’s terrific. I wrote that long before all of this J.D. Vance nonsense, but it certainly has put some wind in our sails. And Tippiās! Who heard her name and sheās looking for treats. Here you go, dear. In the audiobook, the great actress Pamela Adlon voices Tippi.
BLADE: Could you foresee writing a childrenās book about Tippi?
RAINBOW: Well, what can I say? I don’t know how much Iām at liberty to discuss. Fuck it, I’ll discuss it! I did write a children’s book, and I’m saying it to whoever asks me. It comes out next year, and that’s actually what we’re planning the tour around, when it comes out around Pride next year. I won’t get into exactly what it’s about, but I will be revealing that very soon. And Tippi is a major character in it.
BLADE: Fantastic! As a 10-year resident of Fort Lauderdale, I especially enjoyed your motherās takedown of DeSantis in āLadies and Gentlemenā¦My Mother (the Sequel).ā I take it she didnāt need any prodding from you.
RAINBOW: No. No, she did not. I actually asked her ahead of time ā we did a little pre-interview like it was āThe Tonight Showā ā and I asked her about her topics, so she had her DeSantis material all laid out.
BLADE: Would you please tell my husband Rick thereās a right way to load the dishwasher? He wonāt listen to me, but heāll definitely listen to you.
RAINBOW: I, sadly, do not have a husband, so that is one example that I don’t actually have specifics on. How does he do it?
BLADE: Just wrong!
RAINBOW: Wrong for you.
BLADE: For example, the silverware is just pell-mell in the rack, instead of being grouped, spoons with spoons, forks with forks, and so on.
RAINBOW: He’s not putting mugs or glassware on the bottom, is he?
BLADE: No, not at all. But the plates should go in the same direction, right?
RAINBOW: Absolutely, yes.
BLADE: Thank you!
RAINBOW: I would get rid of him [laughs].
BLADE: āLow-Hanging Fruitā arrives in advance of Election Day 2024 and includes the āRandy Rainbow For Presidentā and āMy Gay Agendaā essays, along with running political commentary, as well as a dig at āDonald Jessica Trumpā which you say you couldnāt resist. All kidding aside, please share your thoughts on the 2024 election.
RAINBOW: Oh God, kidding aside? How dare you! I have no thoughts that are not kidding because I have to kid to keep my sanity. It’s literally insane. I’ve left my body over it. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to expect. I try to be positive, but I don’t know what that means anymore. I cannot wait for it to be fucking over!
BLADE: Finally, when it comes to āhot tea,ā which you write about in the essay āDo I Hear A Schmaltz?ā, may I also recommend Harney & Sonsā āVictorian London Fog?ā Iām savoring it as we speak.
RAINBOW: Good one! Thank you! I’m very into Harney and Sons now. I have just a few from their catalog, but that’s the next one I’ll try.
The 2024 Winchester Pride festival was held on the grounds of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Va. on Saturday, Oct. 5. Performers included LaLa Ri of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Star of “Pose” Dominique Jackson was the special guest at the vogue party “Kunty” on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Bunker.Ā DJ Mascari provided the music.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)