CHICAGO (AP)—Friends of Animals posted an open letter to U.S. figure
skater
Johnny Weir criticizing him for having fox fur on one of his costumes
and asking
him to stop wearing fur.
The animal advocacy group also contacted his costume designer,
Stephanie
Handler, on Tuesday.
“I totally get the dirtiness of the fur industry and
how terrible it is to
animals. But it’s not something that’s the No. 1 priority in my life,”
Weir
said on Tuesday. “There are humans dying everyday. There are thousands
if not
millions of homeless people in New York City. Look at what just happened
in
Haiti.
“I tend to focus my energy, if there is a cause, on humans. While
that may
be callous and bad of me, it’s my choice.”
Weir loves fashion, and his costumes tend to be on the
avant-garde—some
would say extreme—side. When the three-time U.S. champion redesigned his
free
skate costume before the U.S. champions, he had Handler add a tuft of
white fox
fur to the left shoulder.
Weir said he thought the costume was “lovely,” but Friends of Animals
disagreed. Foxes are electrocuted or beaten, and their pelts are
obtained by
skinning the animals alive, said Anai Rhoads, spokeswoman for the group.
“He’s a role model for a lot of people, including other skaters,”
said
Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. “When he makes fun of
the
suffering of animals that are consumed for this frivolous fashion
industry and
whose lives are sacrificed so he can wear little tufts of fur on his
outfit,
that’s fair game for comment.”
Weir finished third at the U.S. champs, qualifying for his second
Olympic
team.
Friends of Animals was not the first group to target Weir. He said
he’s
gotten letters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and
people have
sent him videos depicting how animals are treated by the fur industry.
But Weir said this was the first time someone has contacted Handler.
“She did what I asked her to. It wasn’t her choice to make me a
costume
with fur,” Weir said. “At least directly come to me and yell at me.
Don’t
attack my peeps.”
Weir said he understands the groups’ objections, but he doesn’t share
their
point of view.
Besides, he’s not the only skater wearing animal skin products.
“Every skater is wearing skates made out of cow,” Weir said. “Maybe
I’m
wearing a cute little fox while everyone else is wearing cow, but we’re
all
still wearing animals.”