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Out Actor & Olympian Gus Kenworthy On His Struggle With Body Dysmorphia
"I have absolute body dysmorphia, the same way that every gay person does."
Out actor and Olympic gold medalist Gus Kenworthy says even he struggles with body image issues.
In a recent interview with Attitude to promote his role in queer Slovakian singer Karin Ann’s new music video, Kenworthy opened up about how even as a professional athlete he isn’t always happy with the way he looks.
“I don’t think I have the perfect body. I have absolute body dysmorphia, the same way that every gay person does,” he said.
“There are moments where I’m, like, super happy with how my body looks and I’m being stricter about what I’m eating and better with my training,” the American Horror Story actor continued. “And then there are moments where I’m not feeling good about it. And the way that Instagram works is that’s probably not the time I’m going to post a photo. So it creates this kind of distorted version of reality.”
The 31-year-old former freestyle skier also told the outlet he doesn’t mind being seen as a sex symbol by fans. “In terms of being viewed as sexual, I don’t care. I’m flattered and fine with it. I’m a very, very sexual person and I’m very open about it.”
In his first breakout role after hanging up his skis, Kenworthy played Chet in 2020’s American Horror Story: 1984. Since then he’s starred in an episode of Will & Grace, the star-studded 80 for Brady, and the horror movie The Sacrifice Game.
The actor responded to the criticism he received for playing a straight character on AHS, saying, “The beauty of acting is that you’re taking on another character.”
Kenworthy explained that while he doesn’t have a problem with straight actors playing gay characters, he does think that it often takes away opportunities from queer stars. “I think that when it comes to queer roles, I don’t think it should be forbidden for straight actors to play those parts. But I do think that gay actors should be considered for them and sometimes aren’t,” he explained.
“I think that we’re so often overlooked and underutilized,” Kenworthy said. “If they’re telling our stories, they should use our perspectives.”
His latest acting role is as the smooth-talking, scheming boss in Karin Ann’s undeniably queer film-noir style music video for her new song “A Stranger With My Face” that was released earlier this month.
“I just think [Karin Ann’s] story is so great and love the fact that she is an openly queer artist and is pushing that narrative and this video is pushing that narrative,” Kenworthy said. “I was so excited to be a part of such a cool, queer project.”
Watch the music video for "A Stranger With My Face" below.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
