The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog: Macy's

Johnny, the "Winter Monarch"--

as he was described by NBC announcer Ann Curry--

of the 85th Anniversary Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

His appearance prompted a huge outpouring of Twitter love,

including this response:

Yes. An idea whose time has come.

Completely clad in sparkles and fur.

This was by far the sparkliest Thanksgiving Day I have ever had in my life, thanks in no small part to Czarina Johnny:

As the NewNowNext blog authors wrote in their parade review, in which they lauded Johnny as one of the stars who stole the show:

Johnny [Weir's] ten-second appearance clad in all white, waving from atop a rocking horse as some sort of King of Winter, was the most fabulous thing ever in most American living rooms all year.

And so let's just roll around in a few of my fav pics from the fabulosity.

Please be sure to click photos twice for glittery full-size view. For more incredible pics, see this Tumblr post.

The resplendent Czarina.

OMG the shoes.

Photo from CelebSpin.

Thanks to Lauren Ashbaugh for spotting

this watermark-free version!

The Monarch on his way

to his magnificently appointed SparkleStallion.

Newscom has a zillion more (watermarked) photos--

just click here and search for "Johnny Weir."

First look.
Photo tweeted by Johnny with the caption:
"Oh nothing...just a random Thursday."

Photo tweeted by Alicia S.

Photo via Wire Image.

Almost immediately after his appearance

on America's screens, The Advocate posted this photo

as their Art Dept's Photo of the Day. Love it.

A few hours later, The Advocate posted "A Look at the Macy's Thanksgiving Gay Parade," in which they wrote:

We're not sure whether this is a first. But men in drag performed as part of this year's big Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is usually at its most outrageous when the Rockettes kick up their heels in lurid unison. And that performance — from Broadway's Priscilla, Queen of the Desert — actually had a rival for the annual event's gayest moment.

Ice skating star (and a LOGO reality TV personality) Johnny Weir stirred up the crowd in front of Herald Square, arriving on an oversized rocking horse, confetti blowing in the air, while being announced to television viewers as a "winter monarch." ... Is this one of those small moments that illustrates mainstream culture's acceptance of the LGBT community?

I'd like to think so. And IMO there's no better ambassador to help further that acceptance than the Monarch / Czarina. ♥

Interestingly, also immediately after his appearance on TV, there was so much Twitter love that this happened (thanks to Jen Bee for the screencap!):

Here's an accompanying explanatory tweet in case there's anyone left still clueless on the planet:

OK, yes, more photos:

Photo courtesy of SvetVin.

OMG DID I MENTION THE SHOES.

Photo via Wire Image.

Photo courtesy of BNugs on Flickr.

I came across this story on Tumblr, and IDK if it happened around the time this photo was taken, but the poster writes:

I was at the parade today, and no one around me knew who Johnny was. So, I called out his name and he looked toward me and waved. Then, I called back out to him--"Make sure you be good, Johnny Weir" (cheesy, I know) but, he then did the most fabulous leg kick I have ever seen, threw his head back, then threw glitter in the air. Needless to say, my love for him only grew.

Yes! We have video! First, from Wendy Stevenz...

...next, from Jenn Kittler...

...and finally, from Elizabeth Lara,

WHO. WAS. THERE. WHICH. IS. AWESOME.

Thank you so much for sharing this, Elizabeth!!

And when she sent me the link, she wrote,

"I just noticed that the baby in the background

said Johnny's name [at about 00:14]. :)" Love!

And, of course, our coverage would not be complete

without a gif from Weibo.

Bonus Feature:

Kaleidoscope Unbound

Johnny winks at the camera

at the end of his performance of Poker Face

in Kaleidoscope.

Yes, at last, the super-secret-squirrel-skate-travaganza called "Kaleidoscope" (Code Name: Shhhhhhh-If-I-Tell-You-I'll-Have-To-Kill-You) aired yesterday on Fox after an interminable football game followed by an even more interminable (as if that were possible) (hello you're running overtime and spilling your interminableness all over my watching Johnny Marmalade perform skating as a new type of pole dancing pls STFU already) post-game show (Alice: "Why is there a boring post-game show to talk about the boring game everyone just watched / slept through? And if we have to have those, why don't we have them in skating?" Me: "That sounds like a question for our good Monarch..."). And yes, they cut most of the pole-skating-in-a-trenchcoat (argh), but at least they did retain both of his performances AND feature him extensively in the "coming up next!" segments, so yay! And WE HAVE VIDEO thanks once again to Wendy Stevenz!

Johnny Marmalade.

I have to agree with Rachel Machinton:

Love Patti LaBelle, but this needs

more more more Johnny on camera.

And: What he says will be his last performance

of Poker Face. Y_Y

Once again, our coverage concludes with a gif,

this time from the fabulous Jenn Kittler, without whom

sometimes this blog would not even happen.

Thank you, Jenn!

Yes please.

HEY!!! We did it!!

Johnny is a finalist for

"Must-Follow Athlete on Social Media"

in the 5th Annual Mashable Awards!!

IT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL. Mashable gets more than 50 million page views per month, and has been named by Time Magazine as one of the top 25 blogs on the Internet.

He's up against some stiff competition from Yuna Kim and John Cena, among others, but hey--we're really good at voting! We can do this!

He's also in some amazing company: As Megan Gusinski pointed out, finalists in other categories include The Trevor Project, NOH8, GLAAD, and Ellen Degeneres, so you might want to do some additional voting while you're on Mashable's site.

Voting ends on Friday, December 16, and the winners will be announced on Monday, December 19. Just click the graphic above or at the top righthand side of the blog to be taken directly to the voting page for Johnny.

You can vote once per day per Twitter and Facebook account. Please VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

West Coast fans! Come see Johnny perform

at Union Square Ice Rink as part of Macy's Great Tree Lighting

in San Francisco! From Macy's website:

"Visit the MAC Cosmetics tent during the day
for holiday beauty tips, and be sure to come back
after Johnny Weir's performance

to meet the Olympian in person."!!!!

Blog entry, "Portraits," now updated
with true full-size images!!
If you haven't had a chance to see
these gorgeous photos yet, please check them out.
Here's just one sample...
(click photo again after it loads for full size).

Please vote for Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov!!

Their "Fever On Ice" program is up

for a $50K grant from Pepsi Refresh!
They're now in second place
in their category and tier--
but only first place wins. We can do this!

Johnny's Glitter and Ice collection
with MAC is selling out fast!

Don't miss your chance to sparkle--
visit a MAC retailer or order online ASAP!

NEW!! The Sheraton Philadelphia University City
is now the official Holiday Dreams On Ice hotel!!
Book your rooms before December 9
and receive a special HDOI-only discount!
The Sheraton also will be hosting the VIP after-show party.
More info on the Holiday Dreams On Ice website!

"Like" HDOI on Facebook,
and use promo code "philadelphia"
for 50% off your general admission ticket!!