Adam Rippon’s Most Hilarious Quotes from the Olympics
Adam Rippon's world class figure skating skills already helped earn Team USA an Olympic medal, but he also deserves a gold medal just for being the most charmingly hilarious personality and interviewee at the Games.
The 28-year-old openly gay athlete made his primetime Olympics debut on Monday, delivering not only a knockout performance on the ice, but also a couple incredible live interviews packed with enough wit, swagger, and Xanax jokes to instantly mint him America's sassy new sweetheart. The great sound bites keep coming from Rippon, who gave one of his most hilarious and soulful monologue yet during a recent press conference.
So, to help bring you up to speed on some of his most memorable moments, here's a rundown of his most notable quotes from interviews during the PyeongChang Games so far:
On Valentine's Day
"Nobody loves me as much as I love me; so I guess I’ll just be my own Valentine tomorrow." - Press conference
On how to cope with depression
“To watch Mirai Nagasu go out there and also skate a clean free skate...I mean, we’ve really been through a lot together. Four years ago, we were eating In-N-Out on the roof of her house in Arcadia, Calif., and we were crying that we weren’t at the Olympics. And four years later, we’re sharing an Olympic podium together. So, if you’re ever depressed, go to In-N-Out, and four years later you’ll be at the Olympics!” - Press conference
On what (and who) drives him to win
"There are so many emotions when I step on the ice. I want to represent my country to the best of my abilities. I want to make Reese Witherspoon proud." - NBC
On newfound superstardom
“The other day I was joking to one of my friends. He was like, ‘You’re kind of everywhere right now.’ I was like, ‘I know; I’m America’s sweetheart.’ He laughed in my face." - Press conference
On who he owes his first Olympic medal to
"I owe this medal a lot to [Reese Witherspoon] and to my mom. But, like, more to Reese in a way, ya know? Because she has more followers on Instagram." - NBC
On how to court potential sponsors
"Six years ago I had no money to my name, I was living in my coach's basement. I had just leased a car and I got a letter in the mail saying my credit was so bad that they needed to take the car back. So my coach co-signed on the lease so that I could keep the car and he said 'I trust you and I trust that you're going to work hard.' And you know, I came into this Olympic Games without any major sponsors, but I'm... [addressing CEOs watching his interview on CNBC] Listen, this is Adam Rippon, I've been speaking with Reese, Ive been speaking with Britney...Andrew [Ross Sorkin] as well, that's three. These things happen in threes so this is how I know this is meant to be. You need me [long dramatic pause] Call me." - CNBC
On what he's looking for in a sponsorship
"I love money." - CNBC
On finding success at a relatively old age
"I can’t explain witchcraft. I just feel like I’m coming into my own. I’m confident in who I am and what I’m doing. I’m just having a great time.” - NBC
On the age difference between his teammates
“Vincent and I were born in different millennia. We were! I was born in the ’80s, girl...No electronics. No phone. The Berlin Wall came down when I was, like, born. The Internet was, like, invented when Vincent was born. So we’re definitely different.” - Press conference
On the haters and skeptics
“People have told me, ‘Oh, you’re a lot different than what I thought.’ I say, ‘Oh, what did you think?’ They’re like, ‘Oh, we just thought you were an asshole.’ I’m like, ‘Oh … yikes.’ I’m just trying to share who I am, my personality...Sometimes I might meet people and they might just not like me, not want to get to know me. And that’s okay. They’re boring as hell anyway.” - Press conference
On how he's feeling ahead of his next competition on February 16
[Exasperated inhale] "Girl I'm ready. I'm here! I'm at the OLYMPICS. And, you know, I came to play." - Good Morning America
On the secret to exuding confidence
"I have a good dentist. Like, that's all it is. It's just tricks" - The Today Show
On embracing his strengths
"I might not be the best, but I'm the most fun. I'm going to skate my heart out." - NBC
On what his nerves are like on the ice
"I want to throw up. I want to go over to the judges and say 'Can I just have a Xanax and a quick drink. I'll be fine.'" - NBC
On the first thing he's going to do when he gets back home
"I'm going to go to Target, and I'm going to get a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Oyster Bay with the twist top. Yeah. Uh-huh. Immediately. You can come right over. I live like 15 minutes from LAX and we can just have a day." - Good Morning America
Of course, if you've been paying any attention to his career up until now, you'd know Rippon has long been a quip machine who's not afraid to speak his mind. Here are some of his greatest quotes from before the Games:
On his career resiliency
"I'm like a witch and you can't kill me. I keep coming back every year, and every year I get better." - NBC Sports, 2016
On his style evolution
"I think that my fashion sense, like, 8 years ago, I was trying to be, like, straight boy chic. So, it was sort of, like, a disaster." - USA Today Sports.
"I say I really like my slutty costumes. It's, like, tongue in cheek. But I do, I really like my slutty costumes." - USA Today Sports
On his tendency to procrastinate
"I would say that I’m a hot mess all the time. I usually finish things in the last second. But I think, as I’ve gotten older, I don’t worry about it and I just rock it. If I forgot to put something on and I have to wear a trash bag, I’m just like, I’m gonna rock a trash bag today. I’m really go-with-the-flow, but I take things really seriously." - NBC, April 2017
On eyebrows
"I tweeted a while ago about an interview in which I was asked what it's like to be a gay athlete, and I said, 'It's exactly like being a straight athlete, except with better eyebrows.' Over the past few weeks, this has led to me talking more about my eyebrows than I have in my entire life. And then, someone—[laughs]—sent me a tweet—[laughs harder]—asking, 'Oh, so you think you have better eyebrows than straight people?' And I was like, 'Wow. It sounds like your eyebrows probably aren't that nice.'" - GQ
On aging
"When I was 18, it was, 'Fuck it, I'm going to do everything balls to the wall until they turn the lights out.' If I did that now -- my insurance isn’t good enough for me to end up in urgent care every day." - GQ
On t-shirts
"I can't wait to go through Olympic processing, where we get our uniforms and everything. One of the people I skate with every day just said to me, 'You wear a different Olympics T-shirt every day.' Which is true! But I was like, 'Bitch, I've been collecting these for the past eight years. In the two weeks before I actually get to go to the Olympics, I'm wearing every fucking T-shirt I've ever gotten in my entire life that has the Olympic rings on it.'" - GQ
On Team USA's opening ceremony outfits
"Maybe if this were my fifth Olympic Games, I'd say, 'Oh, I wish it were like this, or like that.' But honestly, at this point in my life, if they said, 'Here's your opening ceremony outfit,' and then handed me a piece of rope and some broken sticks and a trash bag, I'd be like, 'IT'S GORGEOUS. I'LL MAKE IT WORK.' - GQ