Winter Olympics Skier Gus Kenworthy Shares Anti-ICE Message Written in Snow

NEED TO KNOW

• Gus Kenworthy shared an Instagram photo with a message targeting Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Wednesday, Feb. 4
• The British American Olympian's image read of "f--- ICE" written in what he later revealed was urine in the snow
• In his caption, the athlete, who competes for Team GB, also encouraged Americans to call their senators to "to speak up against ICE"

Pro skier Gus Kenworthy shared a pointed message criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before competing for Team GB at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Feb. 4, Kenworthy, 34, shared a photo of a message that read "f--- ice," written in what he later revealed was urine the snow.

"You can call your Senator at (202) 224-3121 to speak up against ICE and put pressure on them during the current DHS funding negotiations," Kenworthy began in the caption.

The athlete then provided a sample script for callers to use when phoning their state senators. "Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. I’m calling to urge Senator [Name] to refuse to support any final Department of Homeland Security funding agreement that fails to meaningfully rein in ICE and Border Patrol."

"Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough. We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities," the sample script in the caption continued.

"Senators still have leverage right now, and Senator [Name] must use it to demand real guardrails and accountability — including getting ICE and CBP out of our communities, ending blank-check funding for brutality, and establishing clear limits on warrantless arrests, profiling, and enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and hospitals. Please pass this message along to the Senator. Thank you," the caption concluded with a middle finger emoji and an ice emoji.

His message comes amid the deaths of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent, and Alex Pretti, who died after being shot by U.S. Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis last month.

Kenworthy later followed up the post with a series of wintry photos ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan on Thursday, Feb. 5. "My last post was pee so it only felt appropriate to follow it up with a lil’ dump… of photos from January. Yes, I’m a child. 💩," he wrote in the caption.

The Olympian's statement comes days after a Team USA hospitality venue formerly known as The Ice House changed its name to The Winter House, according to a joint statement from U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey and US Speedskating, USA Today reported on Feb. 1.

"Our hospitality concept was designed to be a private space free of distractions where athletes, their families, and friends can come together to celebrate the unique experience of the Winter Games," the bodies said in a joint statement. "This name captures that vision and connects to the season and the event."

The governing bodies opted for the name change after concern about ICE protests in Milan, USA Today reported. 

Kenworthy, a British and American citizen, previously competed for Team USA, and later switched to Team GB. The athlete told PEOPLE exclusively that there are “a lot of different reasons” why he competes for his mother’s home country — and that securing a bid to compete on Team USA would have been seemingly more difficult.

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"Making the team for the U.S. is a nightmare and those guys are like fighting dog-eat-dog for those four spots and ultimately it results in men not making the U.S. team that are world-class that could be on the podium that don't get to be there, and me also going for the U.S. is just another person that's fighting for those same four spots and another person that misses out.”

He added, “And me going for GB [Great Britain], like, I opened up a quota spot. I didn't take that spot from anybody. That spot wasn't a spot otherwise. And maybe that quota spot took away the very one of the spots at the bottom of the ranking, but that's someone that's competing at a lower level anyway. ... If anything, I almost feel like it's more patriotic I'm letting another American go.”

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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