Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu made it clear where she stands politically — and attributed her beliefs to the staunch activism of her dad.
“Our family is pretty liberal, and I would say it’s thanks to my father,” Liu, 20, told Rolling Stone in an interview posted on Saturday, March 7. “We’re proud of his story. We’re outspoken too. Just like he was outspoken, I would say. He was really outspoken. A whole ‘nother level.”
Alysa’s father, Arthur Liu, was a former political refugee in China who was “smuggled,” said Alysa, to the United States in his 20s after he vocally protested against the Communist government following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
“Because he’s so into politics, my whole family is as well,” Alysa said. “Just the ideology to fight for what’s right and speak up. Basic human rights, stuff like that.”
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Alysa has four siblings: sisters Selina and Julia and brothers Joshua and Justin. Arthur was a single father of all five of his children via surrogacy.
While Alysa admitted she “was no student protest organizer or nothing,” she explained how she’s actively followed in her dad’s footsteps.
“Me and my friend, we go to protests,” she said. “Me and my best friend, their family is also really involved in politics. Sometimes we’ll call our policy makers. We would write letters. I remember when we were kids, we’d do [that] a lot.”
When it comes to the issues she’s most passionate about, Alysa said, “A lot of climate stuff. But mostly election things, Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, ICE protests. A ton of that stuff.”
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Alysa is studying psychology at UCLA, though she’s currently on a break following the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she won gold medals in the women’s singles and team figure skating competitions.
Along with some of her fellow Team USA athletes — including figure skater Amber Glenn — Alysa was not afraid to speak openly and candidly during the Games.
“We are Americans and I think that all of us have such unique stories and backgrounds, that is kind of what it’s all about,” she urged. “We can share our stories on the big stage. We had a super diverse team. I was proud that I could represent who I was on the big stage on behalf of the Americans that could relate to me.”
Alysa added, “It’s all about telling stories and having people feel for you. More empathy needs to happen for sure.”
