Adam Rippon and professional dance partner Jenna Johnson. | Photo: Dancing With The Stars / YouTube
Winter Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon absolutely slayed his first performance in Dancing with the Stars: Athletes.
Partnered with professional dancer Jenna Johnson, they danced the cha cha to RuPaul’s Sissy that Walk.
The bronze medal figure skater said before his performance: ‘This experience – dancing in front of America – now that the opportunity has come about, it’s time to seize the moment.’
Rippon and Johnson have amazing chemistry throughout the whole rehearsal period and performance.
Johnson said: ‘Adam and I, when we first met, I was amazed because I felt like we had known each other for years.
‘Immediately there was just a connection and a chemistry,’ she said.
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The Dancing with the Stars judges gave Rippon and Johnson a total score of 24 out of 30, making them tied for first with American footballer Josh Norman.
Other athletes competing in this season are controversial figure skater Tonya Harding, basketballer Arike Ogunbowale and softballer Jennie Finch.
Adam Rippon: ‘I wouldn’t have a medal without her’
Rippon also gave a shoutout to fellow figure skater Mirai Nagasu.
He said: ‘I wouldn’t have an Olympic medal without her. And I wouldn’t be able to go through this whole experience with touring with Stars on Ice without her.’
Last month, Adam Rippon introduced his boyfriend to the public.
He also gave a powerful speech after winning a human rights award. He said in the speech: ‘I was afraid that I wouldn’t be welcomed by the LGBTQ community because someone like me wouldn’t be the role model they were looking for.’
‘Maybe I was too gay, maybe I was just too myself,’ he said.
The 28-year-old said he had spent a lot of his life depressed and afraid. When he made the choice to be ‘unafraid’ and truly be himself, he learned what the true meaning of champion was.
