Miley Cyrus praises Olympian friend for 'coming out' as gay

Miley Cyrus showed her pride for her good friend Gus Kenworthy by praising the Olympian for 'coming out' as gay.

On Thursday (22Oct15), the 24-year-old freeskier, who earned a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, went public with his sexuality in an ESPN The Magazine cover story.

He shared an image of his November (15) cover issue with fans on Instagram, and in the accompanying caption, he wrote, "I am gay. Wow, it feels good to write those words... For most of my life I've been afraid to embrace that truth about myself. Recently though, I've gotten to the point where the pain of holding onto the lie is greater than the fear of letting go, and I'm proud to finally be letting my guard down."

Gus recieved an outpouring of support from fans and friends alike, including pop star Miley, who also took to Instagram to laud her pal's statement.

"Never have I ever been prouder to call @guskenworthy my friend!", she wrote. "(and he's a bad a** f**king Olympic athlete) He is showing all of us what it means to be courageous and proud of who we are! You have won so much more than any medal... You have won freedom!

"So much respect for you I looooove looooove looooove you (sic)! Ughhhhhhhhh (sic) heart is fluttering, feels like a million little cocoons just busted open and I am filled up with butterflies".

In the same post, Miley also expressed her delight about working with Gus on projects through her charity, The Happy Hippie Foundation, an organization committed to promoting the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and homeless youth.

"I can't wait to see what you and I can do with @happyhippiefdn together!" Miley added. "You are making it possible to shine light on the LGBTQ community in front of a whole new world!"