Adam Rippon attends the 2018 ESPYs on July 18, 2018 in Los Angeles.
In the candy-colored world of Taylor Swift’s new video for her single “You Need to Calm Down,” everyone is equal and looking fabulous and Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon is there to serve you snow cones.
Who wouldn’t want to live in a world like that?
Rippon was one of many celebrities including Katy Perry, Ryan Reynolds and the cast of “Queer Eye” to make an appearance in the video. Like the song itself, the video envisions a world in which intolerance and discrimination can be quashed with the simple rejoinder, “you need to calm down.” Angry protesters with homophobic signs confront Swift and her friends, but they just continue sunbathing without a care in the world for the hate.
Both Swift and Rippon know a thing or two about shaking off the haters. Rippon, a bronze medalist in the team competition at the Olympic Winter Game PyeongChang 2018, is openly gay and never shies away from speaking his mind on social media or otherwise. Rippon is also a huge fan of Swift’s.
“Well now I am reborn,” he tweeted upon Swift’s announcement of the video’s release.
Well now I am reborn https://t.co/1YSyLiiv0P
— Adam Rippon (@Adaripp) June 16, 2019
Rippon is actually not the first Team USA athlete to appear in a T-Swift video. That title goes to rhythmic gymnast Nastasya Generalova in the video for “Shake it Off.” But Generalova got to show off her gymnastics skills, while Rippon wasn’t skating around on ice, only serving it up in a cup.
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
