Alysa Liu (left), Amber Glenn (right), US Figure Skating

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This weekend, Amber Glenn and her teammate Alysa Liu, targets of far-right fury for their progressive, pro-LGBTQ+ stances and their own queer identities, took home gold in the team figure skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Glenn had already drawn a firestorm for a pre-Olympics press conference in which she spoke freely about Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, leading to death threats and a temporary retreat from social media. Now, after winning gold, Glenn returned to TikTok to post photos of herself and Liu with their medals, captioning the post, “they hate to see two woke bitches win,” openly mocking conservative critics of their political activism.

“If “Woke” means people who use their platforms to advocate for marginalized communities in the country that they are actively representing… Then yeah sure?” posted Glenn.

Their figure skating team victory comes after days of far-right backlash to comments made during a press conference prior to the competition. At the conference, Glenn, who openly identifies as pansexual, spoke about attacks from the Trump administration on LGBTQ+ people and immigrants. “It’s been a hard time for the community overall in this administration. It isn’t the first time that we’ve had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights,” she said. “And now, especially, it’s not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities. I think that we are able to support each other in a way that we didn’t have to before, and because of that, it’s made us a lot stronger.”

The comments drew a conservative firestorm, with MAGA Influencers stoking the flames. “USA figure skater Amber Glenn say the queers are having a “hard time” in Trump’s America. I really hope this bi*ch loses. She’s a DISGRACE!” Said MichelleRM68, a MAGA influencer on Twitter. “The woke left is making the Olympics completely unwatchable,” said AMUSE, another huge MAGA influencer account on the platform. Death threats then followed from the far-right.

Glenn and Liu did not lose, though. Instead, they skated solid performances, with Glenn finishing third in her segment and Liu scoring second in hers. After strong performances from the rest of the team, the Americans collectively took gold in the team figure skating event, making Glenn the first openly queer women’s singles skater to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States. She then returned to social media to fire off her mocking post.

Glenn and Liu both have connections to the queer community. Glenn herself is openly pansexual and often is seen wearing a progress pride pin on her Olympic jacket. She’s also an outspoken supporter of transgender participation in figure skating, saying in an interview, “We need to be able to allow people to enjoy figure skating… it doesn’t matter what your gender is. This is a sport that everyone deserves to enjoy and compete in and be able to express themselves in… If there ever were [trans athletes] then I think it’s something that people deserve to participate in regardless of their gender identity.” Meanwhile, Liu made news for changing her pronouns to she/they on instagram.

Their advocacy comes as U.S. Figure Skating capitulated to the Trump administration in October 2025, banning transgender athletes from competing in their identified gender category. The ban, which replaced U.S. Figure Skating’s 2016 gender inclusion policy, came after the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee directed its member organizations to comply with Trump’s executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The policy now requires athletes to present an original birth certificate identifying their sex assigned at birth—and it applies not just to elite competition, but to all U.S. Figure Skating sanctioned events, sweeping up recreational and adult leagues in the process. Trans skaters who had been competing locally for years were suddenly told they could no longer participate.

The support from Olympic figure skaters draws a sharp contrast to both the political attacks on LGBTQ+ people and U.S. Figure Skating’s capitulation to the Trump administration. It will also likely continue to draw far-right ire. Both skaters are slated to compete in the women’s individual competition, with the short program on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and the free skate medal event on Thursday, Feb. 19.

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