American figure skater Johnny Weir has hit out at Hollywood for “glamorizing” disgraced skater Tonya Harding.
Harding, 47, who was banned from the sport after pleading guilty to hindering the prosecution following the infamous attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan, has been busy promoting the critically acclaimed movie “I, Tonya”, which is a film based on her life.
Weir, 33, took a swipe at the star during Sunday’s Golden Globes after she was acknowledged by Allison Janney, who plays Harding’s mother in the film, during her Best Supporting Actress acceptance speech.
Weir pointed out on Twitter he’s “so over the glamorization of a villain” before he spoke to TMZ Sports the next day.
“She did a horrible, horrible thing,” Weir said in the TMZ clip. “So she’s a pariah in our sport, and she shouldn’t be forgiven for basically, possibly, having the opportunity of ruining somebody’s life.”
After the reporter suggested Hollywood seemed to be forgiving the former skater, Weir replied, “Unless you’re a skater or an athlete, you can’t really understand.”
Harding’s career took a downward spiral after her competitor Kerrigan, who was 23 at the time, was attacked at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit as she left the Cobo Arena on January 6, 1994. She was clubbed on the left lower thigh by an attacker, who was later identified as Shane Stant.
Harding insists she didn’t know her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and his co-conspirator, Shawn Eckhardt, had hired a hit man to critically injure her biggest rival.
“I, Tonya” is in theatres now.
