Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir were such a huge hit at this year’s Sochi Olympic Games that the duo have been asked to do some fashion commentary for NBC during the Kentucky Derby.
The figure-skating friends gave Olympics viewers a treat earlier this year with their witty banter during the performances, and Weir made headlines nearly every day with his fashion choices. Lipinski says the two of them bonded over a mutual love of out-there clothing.
“We’ve always loved loud fashion and sort of bonded over it. The whole Olympics experience was a bit of a surprise. We came in and were focused on doing a good job as rookies. But we’re young and we like to have fun. The fashion was specifically for us every day and it was like,’Oh, people are watching. This is fun,’” she said.
Super excited to join the @NBCSports team covering the @KentuckyDerby! Juleps, southern charm and a custom hat by @KERINROSEGOLD, "Nayyy."
— Johnny Weir (@JohnnyGWeir) April 22, 2014
Horse culture. So excited for the @KentuckyDerby with @taralipinski! pic.twitter.com/ZQvLYmJiBw
— Johnny Weir (@JohnnyGWeir) April 22, 2014
For NBC, the choice was a no-brainer; last year’s Derby brought in a slew of female viewers, a far cry from the old days when horse racing was mostly a male-dominated event.
“It’s not just a two-minute race,” said Rob Hyland of NBC Sports Group. “Of course, the two-minute race is extremely important, but our job is to capture the venue and the day – it’s a huge celebration — as creatively and poignantly as possible.”
Kentucky Derby fashion is widely varied and is based around sometimes beautiful, sometimes outrageous hats, and as Weir tweeted, he’ll be wearing one for the big day. He takes his fashion choices very seriously, however, when it comes time to work.
“We’ve been having conversations since the fall about how I was going to appear in Sochi,” Weir told Access Hollywood earlier this year. “They said go for it, do whatever you want, just on our air, no fur. And that’s something I can understand. I said I don’t think it’s really appropriate [to wear fur on the air]. Fur is a very distinct decision that a person makes, they support it or don’t. I don’t want to be in a position to throw [NBC] under the bus if people get upset.”
Image via Wikimedia Commons
