Ski racer Lucas Braathen is one of the big stars in the World Cup, last season he won the small crystal globe in the slalom. Again and again the Norwegian has to accept wild insults on social media. The banal trigger: his fashion style.
Ski star Lucas Braathen is repeatedly exposed to hate comments online. “I would be lying if I said that I don’t mind a bad reaction. I’m also a person with good and bad days, I’m as vulnerable as we all are. If someone writes to me that I would dress ‘so gay’ that I should kill myself – then I’ll worry,” quotes “Krone” the 23-year-old.
Braathen always shares his passion for fashion on Instagram, sometimes he dresses in a decidedly feminine way. The Norwegian is sometimes attacked for this lifestyle.
Although he hasn’t “received too many bad messages of this kind,” Braathen says the number of them is increasing: “My social media accounts are full of comments like this.”
Ski racer Braathen: “You have no idea”
Nevertheless, the youngster tries not to let the hate messages get to him. They “come from people who don’t know me personally. They have no idea who I really am, so they couldn’t offend me either”.
Lucas Braathen, meanwhile, has clear words for the writers of such messages: “I can’t wait for you to waste your time telling me men can’t wear skirts. I guess the reason I excite so many is because I come from a conservative sport. It’s fun – people think I’m too feminine, don’t focus on the sport.”
Accusing the Norwegian of not taking skiing seriously enough is completely unfounded anyway. The slalom specialist finished fourth in the overall World Cup, and he has already placed first five times in the World Cup.