Although she won her first Olympic gold medal there, life in Milan was tough for Amber Glenn. The 26-year-old was forced to limit her social media activity after getting a “scary amount” of online threats. That came after Glenn pointed out that the LGBTQ+ community was going through a hard time overall under the current administration. She believed she wouldn’t “shut up about politics” because she is an athlete and decided to be vocal. But the backlash was outlandish. Yet the American soon returned to social media and now appears to defend the causes she supports.

Speaking to Forbes, Amber Glenn said, “People are going to judge you either way, but making a difference in someone’s life is more important to me.” After all, Glenn has long used her platform to support a variety of causes and fans. Some even send her supportive messages over her advocacy.

From mental health to the LGBTQ+ community, especially as Glenn is the first openly queer athlete in US figure skating history. It marked a major moment when she spoke out, saying, “It’s been a hard time for the [LGBTQ+] community overall in this administration.” She has always been vocal, even in Milan, because she knew it was the right time.

“I’ve used [social media] for connection for so many years,” she went on. “I knew that I had a platform. It wasn’t a big one, but I had a platform, and I had people who looked up to me.”

In fact, after her performance in the team competition and women’s short program in Milan-Cortina, many disappointed online commenters went up to Glenn’s social media pages and spread hate comments about the skater.

Yet, Glenn definitely made her mark in Milan. So much so that by the end of the 2026 Olympics, her social media following blossomed. She enjoyed 39% growth, earning over a million followers on Instagram and crossing the two-million mark on TikTok.

That was partly thanks to the worldwide figure skating boom, which is still growing thanks to the Stars on Ice performance. Glenn’s was further boosted by the fact that she won a third consecutive national title in 2026, alongside her bronze at the 2026 worlds. However, the Olympics proved to be a completely different beast, even if Glenn was prepared for it.

“That’s when the spotlight is on you,” Glenn explained. “Whatever message you want to spread, that’s the time to do it. But it’s also when you’re going to get the most negativity.”

For Glenn, the negativity she faced in Milan was nothing new. After all, she’d been fighting battles far closer to home long before the Olympics.

Amber Glenn opens up about her mental health struggles

The now 26-year-old started in figure skating as a child. She joined alongside her sister Brooke and their cousins, but few expected what would happen next. From the moment go, Amber Glenn’s talent was rather evident, and by 14, she was a future star, competing at the US junior national championships. The hopes were being piled on her, with Glenn struggling to deal with it.

Suddenly, she was one to watch, and that came with a lot of pressure. In her own words, it further exacerbated her own ongoing battle with mental health.

“The external and internal pressure was just a lot, and I had already been struggling with my mental health,” Glenn told ESPN in January.

“I was just latching onto any way to feel in control of myself and my own environments, and it just manifested in disordered eating and depressive episodes, and it was just a lot. And it got to a point to where it could not be sustained as an athlete or even just as a human.”

In the end, it was a close friend who noticed Amber Glenn’s struggles, which led to the now 26-year-old getting the treatment she needed. That eventually led to her comeback, her transformation, and set the platform that even today, Glenn continues to advocate for. But her journey with her own mental health is far from over, although she wishes that other athletes had opened up about their own struggles.

“I wish there were [well-known athletes] out there when I was younger that talked about their experience and shared that not everything was sunshine and rainbows trying to make it to the top,” she once said. “Healing isn’t linear, it isn’t just an overnight thing. I’m still making progress.” 

And that’s exactly why Amber Glenn has continued speaking out. That’s even when the backlash reached levels she never expected during the Olympics. For the American skater, the medals, titles, and spotlight do matter. Yet, using her platform to help someone feel seen has always mattered more.