Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski Throw Enough Olympic Shade To Keep The Ice Frozen
Come for the Olympic figure skating. Stay for Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski’s icy takedowns of the athletes competing at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
Even before the Opening Ceremony, the Olympians-turned-analysts gave a chilly reception to many of the skaters performing in the early events.
Weir called one routine “the worst short program I’ve ever seen from Nathan Chen.”
Lipinsky was just as unfiltered, deeming the performance “disastrous.”
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And they were just getting warmed up.
Some viewers were thrilled by their comments:
However, not everyone loved it. Some wanted more analysis and less snark:
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Peggy Fleming: Then
Fleming was a three-time World Champ and took the gold in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France -- the only gold the U.S. won in the games that year. Fleming was arguably the U.S.' first bonafide skating celeb to emerge from figure skating in the U.S.
Peggy Fleming: Now
After hanging up her skates, Fleming worked as a color analyst for ABC Sports for years, though she is now retired. The mother of two (and now grandmom) also had a high-profile battle with breast cancer, which was detected on the 30th anniversary of her gold metal win in France -- a challenge she told Jacksonville.com she was prepared for, in part, because of her past. "You don't win the Olympics by yourself and you don’t survive cancer by yourself," Fleming said.
Dorothy Hamill: Then
The head that launched a thousand "wedge" haircuts -- which was basically a fancier take on the classic bowl -- Hamill became a national obsession after she won gold in the 1976 games in Innsbruck, Austria, at age 19. Once she turned pro, Hamill became a headliner with the Ice Capades. She also clinched five consecutive World Professional titles, and starred in several primetime TV specials.
Dorothy Hamill: Now
Hamill, who is now in her mid 50s, has been inducted to both the Olympic and Figure Skating Hall of Fames, battled breast cancer and penned a memoir in which she came clean about her lifelong battle with depression. She's an avid philanthropist and was a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" last year, but had to withdraw early because of an injury. (Hamill also continues to rock an updated version of her tried-and-true 'do.)
Katarina Witt: Then
With the Cold War in full-swing, Witt joined a rarefied group of men and women who've taken the top prize in back-to-back Olympics, winning gold in 1984 and then again in 1988 (in a deliciously '80s costume) -- for what was then East Germany. During her reign, Witt basically owned figure skating: She was also a four-time World Champion, six-time European Champion and eight-time National Champion, before turning pro in 1988, one year before the fall of the Berlin wall.
Katarina Witt: Now
According to her website, Witt now runs a production company that produces ice shows and TV specials. She's also served as a figure skating commentator for big-time events (think: Olympics, World Championships, etc.), and has even tried her hand at acting -- starring in a show at the Berlin Cathedral in 2009. Like many of her fellow skating superstars, Witt, who is now in her late 40s, has written a memoir, and runs a charitable foundation, her website explains.
Kristi Yamaguchi: Then
Yamaguchi kicked off the U.S.' complete obsession with figure skating -- which stretched from the early '90s through the new millennium -- clinching the gold in the 1992 Olympics, having switched from pairs to singles not long before. Remarkably, the native Californian was born with club feet and started skating as a child as a form of physical therapy.
Kristi Yamaguchi: Now
She wrapped up her pro-skating career in 2002, but Yamaguchi, who is now in her early 40s, continues to run her "Always Dream" foundation, and has served as a spokesperson for various national skating groups. In 2006, she added another trophy to her collection, winning the sixth season of "Dancing with the Stars."
Nancy Kerrigan: Then
Ah, Nancy. After winning the bronze at the 1992 Olympics (her fellow American Kristi Yamaguchi came in first), she was famously injured two years later in an attack orchestrated by the ex-husband of rival skater, Tonya Harding. Despite her injured knee, the Massachusetts native went on to take silver in the 1994 games -- in Vera Wang, no less.
Nancy Kerrigan: Now
After the Olympics, Kerrigan was in seriously high demand, scoring endorsements with the likes of Walt Disney World and starring in several ice skating shows. In recent years the mother of three, who is in her mid 40s, has popped back into the limelight, appearing on the short-lived "Skating with Celebrities" and in Will Ferrell's skating movie, "Blades of Glory." The Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan scandal recently grabbed the spotlight again, thanks to an ESPN documentary reexamining the events, as well as America's reaction to them. Kerrigan will be an analyst in the upcoming Olympics.
Oksana Baiul: Then
Baiul eeked out a win over Kerrigan in the 1994 games -- when she was a mere 16 years old. (Controversial side note: While '94 was a big year to root for Kerrigan, this author was a hardcore Baiul fan. So much spunk, that one.) Before that, Baiul also won a World Figure Skating Championship and a Ukranian National Championship.
Oksana Baiul: Now
Baiul, who is now in her mid 30s, has written two biographies, according to her website, launched jewelry and skating apparel lines and appeared in countless skating events. As The Wrap reports, she also recently grabbed headlines for suing her former agency (among others), "for a total of more than $170 million, alleging widespread fraud and theft of millions of dollars she says she earned in the years-long media blitz that followed her gold medal performance at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer."
Tara Lipinski: Then
At just 15 years old (15, you guys!), Lipinski won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, making her the youngest individual gold medalist in the winter games to date. (Lipinski was also the youngest National and World Champion, according to her website.)
Tara Lipinski: Now
Lipinski turned pro at the ripe ol' age of 15, and, at 17, became the youngest skater to win the World Professional Championships, though she was later plagued by hip injuries. Lipinski has been a skating commentator for years and will be an analyst at this winter's Olympics. The 31-year-old is also a special correspondent for Extra TV.
Michelle Kwan: Then
Kwan's a five-time World Champion who won the silver medal in 1998 (behind Lipinski), and bronze in 2002 (the year that fellow American Sarah Hughes took the top prize) -- making her the most decorated U.S. figure skater. In 2006, Kwan -- who The New York Times called "the face of United States figure skating for more than a decade" -- withdrew from what she had intended to be her final Olympics, due to a groin injury.
Michelle Kwan: Now
After 2006, Kwan went back to school to get her Bachelor's and eventually a Master's Degree in law and diplomacy. A recent newlywed, the 33-year-old now works for the State Department as a senior adviser for public diplomacy and public affairs. Get it, girl.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.