Five months after a congratulatory phone call from President Trump triggered backlash against the U.S. men’s hockey team, the women meant to be the butt of the joke are getting a celebration of their own, as promised during the Milan Cortina Games.
SHE Weekend will kickoff in Las Vegas starting Thursday, with Flavor Flav and a host of top brands stepping in to honor the Olympic gold medal-winning women. The four-day event will include a parade and a public concert, along with private events, dinners and shows.
The rapper had supported the U.S. women’s water polo team during the Paris Games and USA Bobsled and Skeleton named him the team’s official hype man for the Milan Cortina Games.
Those Olympics saw the U.S. women’s and men’s hockey teams each win historic gold medals. In calling to congratulate the men’s team, Trump jokingly said he’d also “have to” invite the women’s team to the state of the union or he would face impeachment.
The backlash came swiftly for the men’s team, which could be heard laughing at the president’s remarks. The U.S. women declined the invitation, with captain Hilary Knight calling it a “distasteful joke.”
It prompted Flavor Flav to step in, tweeting in February, “If the USA Women’s Hockey team wants a real celebration and invite ... I’ll host them in Las Vegas. Do some nice dinners and shows and good times. I’m sure I can get a hotel and airline to help me out here and celebrate these women for real for real.”
That has expanded to include other top women athletes.
The rapper set up a GoFundMe that has raised nearly $140,000 through Monday. His tweet evolved to SHE Weekend, with Delta, MGM Resorts, StubHub, Dove, The Women’s Sports Foundation, The Gist, 72 and Sunny, Chantell Preston and Joe Lewis Company among those signing on as sponsors.
He offered a similar promise of support for the U.S. women’s hockey team to attend Wednesday’s ESPYs, where they are nominated for team of the year. Flavor Flav said he would take care of travel, glam and wardrobe for the event and asked for companies to chip in.
Hotel heiress Paris Hilton tweeted that she would gift them 2.5 million Hilton points to support the team. The rapper recently tweeted that GlamSquad had stepped in to cover hair and make-up.
