When Simone Biles celebrated the U.S. women gymnastics team’s Olympic gold medal on Instagram, she also included a caption that caught people’s attention.
“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” wrote Biles, 27, as she shared photos of her and her teammates beaming and holding up the American flag following their victory in Paris July 30.
Biles didn’t include an explanation of her caption, but many fans thought her words were a dig at MyKayla Skinner. The former Olympic gymnast, 27, apologized earlier in July after she questioned the talent and work ethic of this year’s U.S. women’s gymnastics competitors.
On Aug. 6, Skinner addressed the caption, and its fallout, in a video message shared to Instagram.
The 27-year-old said she and her family have been the target of online harassment following Biles’ social media post.
“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,” Skinner began the post.
Skinner concluded the video by speaking to Biles “directly and publicly,” asking that she put an end to the cyberbullying and harassment. “Enough is enough,” she said at one point.
“Please ask your followers to stop. You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness and a lot of people need your help now. We’ve been hurt and attacked in ways that I am certain you never intended. Your performance, the team’s performance and the Olympics in general should be a time that we support one another and lift each other and our country up.”
Biles’ caption led to support from her team members and a plethora of media coverage. Team USA gymnast Suni Lee wrote: “Put a finger down if simone biles just ended you.”
Biles’ other teammate Jordan Chiles also commented on her post: “And that’s on periodt!!”
Former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan also clapped back at “haters” in general in her comment on Biles’ post: “Four letter word for all the haters — G.O.A.T 🐐!!! Bravo.”
McKayla Maroney, a retired artistic gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, appeared to reference Skinner’s past comments, and their similar first name, in a comment on Biles’ post.
“It doesn’t get more iconic than this,” Maroney wrote. “She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.”
Read on to learn more about the history between Skinner and Biles.
TODAY.com has reached out to Skinner and Biles comment.
What is MyKayla Skinner and Simone Biles’ connection?
Skinner took Biles’ place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after Biles withdrew from the vault and uneven bars finals, citing the twisties. Before Biles withdrew, Skinner had been planning to return home because she had not qualified for the vault finals, which were limited to two athletes per country.
However, when Biles’ spot opened up, Skinner competed in the vault finals and received a silver medal, earning an overall score of 14.916. Jade Carey, a member of Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, also competed in the vault finals that year, finishing eighth.
Skinner reflected on replacing Biles in an August 2021 interview with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb, saying she was “inspired” by her fellow gymnast.
She opened up about how much she valued Biles’ support as she replaced her in the finals.
“I was running for my second vault, and I’m like, ‘Simone’s cheering so loud. Oh, my gosh.’ I felt like I was going to be distracted almost. I could hear them up there,” she said. “Even the guys’ team was just so loud, it was insane, so that definitely was much needed.”
Biles and Skinner have been crossing paths throughout their gymnastics careers. They were both junior competitors in the 2011 Visa U.S. National Gymnastics Championships, and Skinner placed second to Biles at the 2015 AT&T American Cup.
What did MyKayla Skinner say about the 2024 U.S. women’s gymnastics team?
In a now-deleted YouTube video reacting to the gymnastics trials in July, Skinner suggested that members of the 2024 women’s gymnastics team had less talent and work ethic than previous gymnasts.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” she said, according to a clip from her video shared by E! News. “I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard.”
She also mentioned the impact on gymnastics she perceived from the U.S. Center for SafeSport, an organization created in 2017 to address and prevent abuse in Olympic and Paralympic sports in the U.S.
“The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” Skinner said. “And it’s hard too because of SafeSport. Like, coaches can’t get on athletes and they have to be really careful what they say. Which, in some ways is really good, but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be, I feel like, a little aggressive and a little intense.”
What has MyKayla Skinner said since?
After her remarks received widespread backlash, Skinner issued an apology video in her Instagram story on July 3, saying her earlier comments had been “misinterpreted.”
“A lot of the stuff that I was talking about wasn’t always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it, and I’m so proud of them,” she said, according to a clip of her Instagram story shared by E! News.
“It was more about going back into my own gym. Just the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Márta (Karolyi) era,” she continued, referencing the former team coordinator.
Marta Karolyi and her husband, Hall of Fame gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi, were accused of creating a “toxic environment” in a lawsuit filed in 2016 that named USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and Bela Karolyi as plaintiffs. Nassar pled guilty to abusing 10 of the more than 265 former patients who say they were molested and is serving 40 to 175 years in prison. The Karolyis deny any knowledge of the molestation.
USA Gymnastics reached a $380 million settlement with sexual abuse survivors in 2021, NBC News reported at the time. In exchange for accepting the settlement, survivors would agree to end legal claims against USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and Bela and Martha Karolyi. USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after Nassar’s sentencing. Lawsuits against USA Gymnastics could proceed if the organization exited bankruptcy without a deal.
“Sorry for anything that got out of context or seemed hurtful,” Skinner went on. “That is never my intention and seriously throughout the video, I was so pumped for the girls … I love those girls and I’m seriously so happy for them.”
Skinner also posted an apology on X on July 6.
“I want to formally apologize to Team USA and to our gymnastic community for my comments during my recent YouTube episodes of the Gymnastics Olympic Trials,” she wrote. “It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work. Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you.
She also referred to abuse she says she experienced while Károlyi was team coordinator.
“Upon reflection, I was comparing the ‘Marta Era’ to the current era,” she continued. “I am coming to terms that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments. I take full responsibility for what I said and deeply apologize.”
Following Team USA’s victory in Paris, Skinner shared a photo in her Instagram story of Biles and her teammates wearing their gold medals, captioning the image with three heart emoji.
How did the U.S. women’s team respond to MyKayla Skinner’s now-deleted video?
Biles appeared to reference Skinner’s comments in a July 4 post on Threads.
“not everyone needs a mic and a platform,” she wrote.
Gina Chiles, the mother of U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, also appeared to reference Skinner’s remarks on July 4 on the X platform.
Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something….
— Gina Chiles (@gina_chiles) July 4, 2024
“Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something….” she wrote.
What’s happening now with Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner?
On July 31, Team USA’s Jordan Chiles posted a photo to her Instagram story of Skinner’s Instagram profile. It appears to be taken from Biles’ phone.
“When she blocks Simone,” the caption reads.
Skinner, on Aug. 6, posted a lengthy video to Instagram addressing Biles’ Instagram caption, saying that it had led to cyberbullying and threats against herself and her family.
She opened by saying she “sincerely hoped” this topic wouldn’t have been revisited, but things have “really gotten out of hand.”
Read on for her full message.
I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn’t need to be revisited, but unfortunately things have really gotten out of hand lately.
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 am just asking for it to just stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough.
So why I’m here is because about four weeks ago, I made a comment about work ethic and what seems to be taking place with the rising generation. To be totally clear, I take 100% responsibility for poorly articulating the point I was trying to make and the last thing I wanted was to cause harm or offend our U.S. Olympic team. I know these women are incredible, the very best of the best, and almost all of them are my former teammates who I have enjoyed very much cheering on the last few years.
I posted a video apology on Instagram and I followed up with a written apology and I sent individual messages to each of the women on the team. Only Simone had responded and she told me that she was proud of me.
You guys can imagine my surprise last week when I was celebrating our team winning gold, just to see this brought up all over again by a caption on an Instagram post. If Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent and if that’s really how she feels, I am really heartbroken over it.
But not just heartbroken because it isn’t how I feel or even what I previously said, but heartbroken because Simone’s latest post and others that followed it fueled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles and emails. Hate that includes death threats to me, my family and even my agent. So, my family and my friends don’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire here. They’ve done nothing.
So to Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop. You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness and a lot of people need your help now. We’ve been hurt and attacked in ways that I am certain you never intended.
Your performance, the team’s performance and the Olympics in general should be a time that we support one another and lift each other and our country up. I love our country and I love our team and I hope that we can move on and move forward and cheer on the rest of our teammates and our athletes together.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
