Cher caused Adam Rippon to throw his phone across the room, but for a good reason
Adam Rippon has led tributes to his friend and fellow Olympic skater Denis Ten in Kazakhstan. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty)
Last week it was revealed that Adam Rippon is among this year’s Time 100, an annual list – assembled by the US-based magazine – that honours the most influential people of the last 12 months.
The Olympic figure skater’s tribute in the lineup was written by legendary singer and actress Cher and as it turns out, Rippon is just as – if not more – excited about that as he is making the list itself.
“As soon as I realised Cher wrote my piece, I read it on my phone and closed it and then threw it across the room because I couldn’t believe that Cher had written my introduction,” he told InStyle at the Time 100 gala on Tuesday. “It’s insane.”
While the pair hail from very different corners of the entertainment industry – one being sport and the other, music – both Rippon and Cher are fast becoming icons on social media.
Their favourite platform? Twitter.
(Photo by Sam Morris/Getty)
“I love that Cher speaks in mostly emojis, which really touches me personally,” Rippon joked about Cher’s online presence and typical response to world news and life updates.
“But what she said and what she wrote is just so unbelievably kind. I still can’t believe it, I can’t even believe that I’m here tonight.”
In Rippon’s Time 100 introduction, Cher wrote: “All figure skaters are beautiful, but Adam Rippon is different. He isn’t just a beautiful skater. He has humility, grace and an incredible sense of humour.
“You could see in the leather-harness suit he wore to the Academy Awards that he isn’t afraid to take chances,” the Believe hitmaker continued.
“It wasn’t about the suit, really. It was about the fact that he dares to be different in a world where being different always comes with a cost. I thought it was fabulous, of course.
Parkland, Florida students Cameron Kasky and David Hogg were also honoured on the Time 100 list of 2018 (cameron_kasky/twitter)
“Adam is a skater who happens to be gay, and that represents something wonderful to young people. When I was young, I had no role models—everyone looked like Sandra Dee and Doris Day. There was nobody who made me think, ‘Oh, I could be like them. They represent me.’
“Adam shows people that if you put blood, sweat and tears into what you’re doing, you can achieve something that’s special. You can be special. And I think that’s very brave.”
Other individuals that featured in the latest Time 100 list include Girls Trip star Tiffany Hiddish, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe, Nicole Kidman, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and civil rights activist Tarana Burke.
Parkland survivors and gun-control campaigners Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg, Alex Wind and Emma Gonzalez were also honoured, with an introduction from former US President Barack Obama.
