Winter Olympics 2026: Gus Kenworthy took death threats over ICE post ‘with grain of salt’

Team GB’s Gus Kenworthy says he is “on the right side” after he received death threats for posting a graphic message about the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement organisation.

Freestyle skier Kenworthy shared the image – in which ‘ICE’ was preceded by an expletive – on Instagram a week before he was due to compete at the Winter Olympics in Italy.

In January, intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, 37, and fellow Minnesota resident Renee Good, 37, were both killed by ICE agents in the city, sparking protests across the US.

Speaking to BBC Sport about the threats he received, Kenworthy said: “It was tough. No-one wants to read bad things about themselves, things that are threats and violent and scary and homophobic.

“I also took it with a grain of salt. I couldn’t imagine writing something like that about someone, especially on a public forum, anyone who does that has something wrong with them.

“I think I’m on the right side.”

Kenworthy, 34, was born in Chelmsford but grew up in the US and won silver in the ski slopestyle at the Sochi 2014 Games, before switching allegiance to Team GB in 2019.

He qualified in ninth place for tonight’s halfpipe final, which starts at 18:30 GMT, with a score of 81.25 points.

US skier Hunter Hess qualified in fifth and made an ‘L’ sign against his forehead after completing his first run, in response to US President Donald Trump calling him “a real loser”.

Before the Games, Hess had said: “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US.”

Speaking to reporters after Friday’s qualifiers, he said: “I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this moment happen.

“I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough.”