Is Johnny Weir's New Sport Baiting Anti-Fur Activists?

Johnny Weir just can't seem to stop talking about fur — how much he loves it and how little he cares about the cruelty behind the industry. Leading up to the Winter Olympics, the figure skater's fur-trimmed costume drew fire from animal activists. After receiving hate mail and death threats, he switched the faux fur for the competition, calling it "in no way a victory for [the activists], but a draw." He defended his love of fur by saying "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."

Fur does, however, seem to be the No. 1 priority of his closet. In a "Closet Confessions" video for Bluefly, Weir says, "I'm a big fan of fur and I'm sorry if you're not." He's not that sorry — he spent much of the segment draped in fur, showing off a "fur tree" that included a fox/python hat and a lynx skirt, and lounging on a bed covered in pelts and fur pillows.

We've all seen people who insist on wearing their fur coats out on the town, or will confess to loving the feel of fur, even though they "know it's bad." But Weir's obsession with fur on the ice and in TV appearances, despite knowing "how terrible it is to animals," almost seems as if he's trying to bait activists.

It's one thing to admit that it's hard to face the truth about the horrible conditions on fur farms, the life of confinement endured by wild animals, and the horrible way their lives end with a broken neck, electrocution, or being skinned alive. But Weir doesn't ignore the cruelty because it's too hard to look at head-on; he would just rather not be burdened with true cost of his fashion choices.

He recently said that animal activists "have their choice to support activism and to speak their minds, and I have the right to speak my mind, too. I'm not passionate about learning about the fur farms and how the animals get killed. I'm passionate about fashion, and fur is a big part of that ... I'm not going to change something I love because someone tells me it's wrong." So much for the rhetoric during the Olympics that he focuses his attention on humans instead of animals. He may donate to UNICEF and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, but when it comes to his purchasing power, Johnny's main focus is on Johnny.

He further tries to justify his closet by saying, "I'm a winter athlete. You can't go walk the streets of Moscow when it's minus 30 and wear some type of plastic. You need a natural warm thing." We've come a long way from the days when animal skins were the only option for staying warm. It's not even the only fashionable option these days. Several designers, who love fashion just as much as Weir (if not more, since it's their job), have sworn off fur. Some, like John Bartlett, have even stopped using leather.

You can be against fur and still be famous, whether you're an athlete, an actor, a musician or a model. So, now that Johnny is reinventing himself off the ice, he may want to consider a compassion makeover, too. It might even help his career; we activists tend to be a loyal bunch.

(Just how loyal can we be? Boycott Bluefly, who produced the video of Johnny Weir showing off his furs, until they adopt a fur-free policy.)

Photo credit: Bluefly "Closet Confessions"