Disgraced Figure Skater Tonya Harding Gets Standing Ovation at Premiere of 'I, Tonya'
Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding wiped away a tear on the red carpet at Tuesday night's premiere of I, Tonya, the highly anticipated film about her hardscrabble life.
At Harding’s side was Australian actress Margot Robbie, who plays her in the movie.
Harding won a standing ovation from the audience after the Los Angeles screening.
I, Tonya is winning rave reviews and it portrays the figure skater not as a villain, but as a victim who defied the odds but ultimately lost a battle for Olympic gold.
Former U.S. Olympic skater Elaine Zayak is outraged that Harding is being treated like a hero.
"There is a dark mark left on the world of figure skating because of Tonya Harding and for people to stand up and cheer for her is wrong," she told Inside Edition.
The 47-year-old Harding is forever linked with one of the most outrageous scandals in sports: The brutal attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan a month before the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
Harding’s husband masterminded the attack and the athlete pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder prosecution.
Harding was banned for life from figure skating and her life became a series of tabloid scandals, failed marriages and brushes with the law, including a stint of community service.
But her skating skills never left her as Inside Edition discovered nine years ago, when cameras caught her doing her signature moves at 38.
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