Johnny Weir made it clear Saturday he’s from the tell-it-like-it-is school of broadcasting.
Weir, a figure skating analyst for NBC at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, earned plenty of attention for his criticism of the athletes during the first night of the team event on Thursday.
“I’m a commentator, not a ‘complimentator,’ ” he wrote on Twitter Saturday.
Johnny Weir says he's just doing his job. (Photo: Greg Doherty via Getty Images)
On Thursday, he dubbed the performance of U.S. star Nathan Chen as “the worst short program I’ve ever seen” from him and added “disaster” to boot. He also said of the top contenders as a whole, “Nobody skated up to their names.”
Weir, a two-time Olympian who teams with the also-blunt former gold medalist Tara Lipinski on the air, warned viewers that he isn’t about to let up.
I’m a commentator, not a “complimentator.” Explaining falls and rough skates is hard because I have been that skater, and truth can hurt. But I would never be able to do my job without telling the truth about every aspect of figure skating and the performances you’ll see.
Competing in the men's free program during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 10, 2002.
2003
Finishing his program in the men's free skate at the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 18, 2003, in Dallas.
2004
Competing in the free skate during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 10, 2004, at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
2004
Competing in the short program during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 8, 2004, at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
2004
Skating in the Chevy Skating Spectacular during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 11, 2004, at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
2004
Performing at the Exhibition Gala at the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships in Dortmund, Germany, on March 28, 2004.
2005
Competing in the men's short program during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Rose Garden on Jan. 13, 2005, in Portland, Oregon.
2005
Competing at the Japan International Challenge figure skating cup competition in January 2005.
2005
Performing during the men's qualifying free skate at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at the Luzhniki Sports Palace on March 14, 2005, in Moscow.
2005
Performing his free skating at the Cup of Russia ISU Grand Prix figure skating event in St. Petersburg on Nov. 26, 2005.
2005
Performing his program at the exhibition of the Cup of Russia ISU Grand Prix figure skating event in St. Petersburg on Nov. 27, 2005.
2006
Competing in the men's short program during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Savvis Center on Jan. 12, 2006, in St. Louis.
2006
Performing as part of "Champions on Ice 2006" at the HP Pavilion on Aug. 5, 2006, in San Jose, California.
2006
Performing in the men's short program competition on day two of Skate Canada on Nov. 3, 2006, in Victoria, Canada.
2006
Performing his men's free program at the Cup of Russia ISU Grand Prix of figure skating in Moscow on Nov. 25, 2006.
2006
Performing to "My Way" during the Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating Challenge on Dec. 10, 2006, at Agganis Arena in Boston.
2007
Performing in an exhibition during the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 28, 2007, at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
2007
Performing in an exhibition program during the International Counter Match Figure Skating Competition, USA vs. Japan, at the Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel Skate Center on Oct. 7, 2007, in Yokohama, Japan.
2007
Skating in the men's short program during the Cup of China Figure Skating competition, held at Harbin International Conference Exhibition and Sports Center on Nov. 9, 2007, in Harbin, China.
2007
During the men's free skating during the Cup of China Figure Skating competition, held at Harbin International Conference Exhibition and Sports Center on Nov. 10, 2007, in Harbin, China.
2008
Skating the men's short program on day 1 of 2008 Skate America at the Comcast Arena on Oct. 25, 2008, in Everett, Washington.
2009
Performing during Festa on Ice 2009 at KINTEX on April 24, 2009, in Goyang, South Korea.
2009
Performing in the men's free skating on day 1 of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy at Big Hat on Nov. 7, 2009, in Nagano, Japan.
2009
Performing in the Gala Exhibition on day 3 of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy at Big Hat on Nov. 8, 2009, in Nagano, Japan.
2010
Competing in the free skate during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Spokane Arena on Jan. 17, 2010, in Spokane, Washington.
2010
Performing his short program at the 2010 Winter Olympics on Feb. 16, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
2010
Performing on an episode of "Skating With The Stars" from November 2010.
2011
Performing at Artistry On Ice at Capital Indoor Stadium on July 16, 2011, in Beijing.
2011
Performing at the Ice Theatre of New York: Dare to Be Different gala at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers, on Oct. 24, 2011, in New York City.
2011
Performing at the Ice Theatre of New York: Dare to Be Different gala at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers, on Oct. 24, 2011, in New York City.
2012
Skating in the men's short program during the ISU Rostelecom Cup of Figure Skating 2012 at the Megasport Sports Center on Nov. 9, 2012, in Moscow.
2017
Skating during the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park's Annual Tree Lighting Skate-tacular on Dec. 1, 2017, in New York City.
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