Watch: Gus Kenworthy Jokes Colton Underwood Is a 'Baby Gay,' Teases Netflix Show
In a new interview with Us Weekly, out Olympian Gus Kenworthy opened up about his friendship with "Bachelor" star Colton Underwood, who made headlines in April when he came out as gay.
Kenworthy will appear in Underwood's upcoming Netflix show (reportedly premiering on the streaming service this fall), which will follow the reality star living life as an out gay man. Kenworthy, who serves as Underwood's "gay guide," described Underwood as "a really sweet guy," jokingly adding that he's "like, a baby gay."
"So he actually is kind of like a baby in this giant man's body. He's really just figuring out the ropes, figuring out himself," said the "American Horror Story" actor. "I don't know, despite what anyone might think, he has truly the best of intentions and he's very, very kindhearted."
Kenworthy went on to say that he first met Underwood before he came out.
"We met four years ago or so doing a podcast in L.A. randomly. We were, like, acquainted because of that," he shared. "And then [we] really became closer friends in the last like six months, with filming and everything."
The freestyle skier said that people were quick to assume that the two were in a relationship.
"When he came out, the [new] show was also leaked and it took things out of context. He and I both took a kind of a lot of heat online that I felt like was sort of unnecessary. And some of it I don't even disagree with," he told the publication, adding that even though he's not dating the former football player, he tried to "set him up" with someone but it "fizzled out quickly."
"People had qualms and wanted an explanation of his situation with his ex-girlfriend [Cassie Randolph]. I think that that's totally fair and valid that people took issue with that. And I think that the show will address that," Kenworthy added.
He also talked about Underwood's coming to understand his sexuality and urged people not to judge him for his journey despite being in the spotlight.
"It's sort of not fair for people to be hypercritical of him in terms of his coming out, because everybody's coming out was difficult in one way, shape or form," said Kenworthy. "Whether they came out really young, whether it was assumed that they were gay, whether it was assumed that they were straight, each one of those comes with its own difficulties. And I think that people oftentimes go through that struggle. It sort of feels like you're drowning sometimes. And then you get through that and you climb up the ladder."
Kenworthy, who came out as gay in 2015, went on to say: "There's other people that still need help and Colton was one of them and his coming out will certainly inspire other people and help other people. And the more representation we can have is for the better, it's just going to make it easier."
Finally, the athlete teased what people can expect from Underwood's Netflix show.
"It's about Colton's journey, but he spoke with lots of people in the [LGBTQ+] community during his coming out process to try and get perspective and a better understanding of the community that he was joining," Kenworthy revealed. "And that is not just me. It's not just cisgender white gay men. He talked to a lot of people and there are people that will sort of play a large role in the show because they had a big impact on him. It's trans folks and it's people of color and it's not just me."
Underwood seems to be getting any help he can get when it comes to his love life. He recently made headlines when he asked his grandmother to help him wade through potential matches on the dating app Tinder. Click here to read more about that.
Watch Kenworthy's interview with Us Weekly below: