Amber Glenn, an American figure skater, responded to her detractors on Tuesday after securing a gold medal in the team event at the Winter Olympics.
Following some “hateful” backlash due to her criticism of former President Donald Trump’s administration, she took a break from social media. However, she re-emerged on TikTok with a photo alongside Alisa Liu.
In her post, she addressed those who were clearly monitoring her activity. She stated, “They hate to see two woke people win,” adding, “If ‘Woke’ means using one’s platform to advocate for marginalized communities in the countries they represent… then, then?”
In a press conference prior to the Olympics, Glenn had expressed concerns about how the Trump administration affected her and fellow members of the LGBTQ community, marking one of the few political comments made by American athletes before the event.
“It’s been a difficult time for the entire LGBTQ community under this administration,” she said in an interview reported by USA Today.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to band together as a community to fight for human rights. And now, it’s affecting not just the queer community but many others as well. We’ve been able to support one another in ways we hadn’t before, and I think that makes us stronger.”
She emphasized that the issues she raises should not be silenced.
The negative reactions online prompted her to log off for a few days.
“During a tough time for many Americans, I chose to utilize one of the great aspects of the United States—freedom of speech—to share my feelings as an athlete on Team USA. Now, I’m facing an overwhelming amount of hate and threats for simply speaking out,” she wrote in a post on her now-expired Instagram Story.
“I anticipated some backlash, but I’m still disappointed. For my well-being, I’ll be limiting my time on social media for a while, but I won’t stop standing up for what I believe in.”
