Simone Biles says she was ‘right’ to call out MyKayla as rival begs her to ‘stop’ bullying
‘I just felt like it was right in that moment to stand up for them’
Following former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner pleading with Simone Biles to “put a stop” to the online bullying she’s facing, Simone has said she was “right” to call her out for her remarks in the first place.
Following the US Gymnastic Olympic Team Trials in Minnesota in July, MyKayla Skinner posted a video on YouTube which claimed that the 2024 gymnasts have “no work ethic” like the team who came before them, a huge dig at Simone Biles, who was notably not present in 2020.
She went on to say: “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth isn’t what it used to be, I just noticed, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard,” which was pretty scathing, and the video has now been deleted.
In response, Simone Biles seemingly referenced the diss in her Instagram post celebrating the U.S. team’s victory, writing: “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”
MyKayla Skinner then took to Instagram, asking Simone Biles to “please put a stop” to the cyberbullying she’s been receiving since her comments went viral.
Simone however, thinks she’s in the right for calling her out and in an interview with People, said: “It’s important because you have to teach them to use their voices. And if not, you’re a voice for the voiceless, which is okay. I just felt like it was right in that moment to stand up for them, because they’re so young and they haven’t fully stood in their power yet. For somebody to stand up, I know it meant a lot for my teammates.”
In MyKayla’s full message to Simone, she explained: “I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn’t need to be revisited but unfortunately things have really gotten out of hand lately.
“And it’s one thing to disagree with me regarding something I have said or a point I was trying to make, but it’s something else entirely when that turns into cyberbullying or even worse.
“Watching people cheer on the bullying – which has led to threats of physical harm to me my husband and our daughter – is disgusting. So please at this point, I’m just asking for it to stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough.”