After catching flack for her since-deleted YouTube video, MyKayla Skinner asks Simone Biles to speak to cyberbullies on her behalf.
Former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner is speaking out after catching heat for comments she made in a since-deleted YouTube video in which she seemingly shaded Simone Biles' Olympic teammates.
The 27-year-old took to her Instagram on Tuesday to directly ask Biles to reprimand the cyber bullies who have attacked her on social media for the viral comments she made last month about the future champions' lack of "work ethic."
"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 said in her Instagram video. "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."
She continued: "About four weeks ago, I made a comment about work ethic and what seems to be taking pace with the rising generation. To be totally clear, I take 100 percent 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," Skinner claimed. "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."
Skinner went on, "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 what I feel or even how I previously said, but 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. My family and my friends don't deserve to be caught in the crossfire here. They've done nothing."
Skinner then directed her message to her former teammate: "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 attacked in ways that I'm certain you never intended. Your performance, the team's performance and the Olympics in general should be a time that we support one another."
The social media spat began in early July, when Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles and 16-year-old Junior World silver medalist Hezly Rivera were selected following Sunday's U.S. Olympic Trials, which became the most-watched Olympic trials since 2016 with 7.6 million viewers across NBC and peaking at 8.2 million. Following their selection, Skinner posted a YouTube video recapping the trials and questioned everyone but Biles' work ethic, among other things.
"Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be," she said in the since-deleted YouTube video but captured and shared on social media. "I just notice, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic."
At the time, Biles seemingly responded to the comments, sharing on Instagram Threads, "not everyone needs a mic and a platform." Chiles' mother, Gina, also tweeted, "Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That's something."
Skinner followed up with a mea culpa on her Instagram Story, claiming her comments were "misinterpreted" and she never intended to hurt anyone. The 2020 Olympics vault silver medalist added she's "seriously so happy" for the team selected to represent Team USA in Paris this year.
After the team earned their first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking home the gold in the team finals, Biles took to Instagram to celebrate her team's gold medal win by taking aim at Skinner's viral comments.
"Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions," Biles captioned the post featuring a handful of photos from their celebratory moment, adding in a trio of red heart, gold medal and United States flag emojis.
Among those commenting was McKayla Maroney, who previously competed alongside Biles in the 2012 London Olympics as a member of the "Fierce Five."
"It doesn't get more iconic than this," Maroney wrote on Biles' latest post.
Then, appearing to reference Skinner, she added, "She f'd around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name."
Biles' husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, issued a similar statement, writing, "F AROUND AND FIND OUT."
Chiles added, "and that's on periodt!!"
A day later, Biles took to X (formerly Twitter) and announced, "Oop I've been blocked 👀🫢😂"
Despite the social media drama, Biles has been filled with gratitude amid her Olympics comeback. The athlete -- who is often referred to as the gymnastics G.O.A.T., or "Greatest Of All Time" -- also posted a collection of competition images on Instagram with the caption, "Grateful to be doing what I love."
This year marks Biles' third Olympics and her first after she dropped out of multiple events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At that time, Skinner took Biles' place in the vault competition and won a silver medal.
Biles emotional journey during this year's games saw her walking away with three gold and one silver medal to add to her collection. In total, her four new medals make up her collection of 11. With 2028 on the horizon, the champion isn't counting out adding some hardware to her collection.
On Monday, Biles officially ended her time at the 2024 Paris Olympic games after competing in four competitions. The next day, the most decorated Olympic gymnast in history sat down with Hoda Kotb, saying she "was so proud" of her time in Paris.
"I was so proud," Biles said during her interview with Today. "Happy and bittersweet that the journey is over. It's crazy it happened so quick, my third Olympics."
"You never say never," she teased about the idea of competing in Los Angeles. "The next Olympics is on home turf so you just never know. I'm just gonna relax and see where life takes me."
While her future on the mat is to be determined, Biles does know what is in store for her and her husband, Jonathan Owens.
"Yes, me and Jonathan always talk about kids," she said when asked if motherhood is in the balance of the future. "He would have had them yesterday if we could have. Obviously we both have goals we want to achieve before we start a family, so yes that def in our future."
Biles and the 27-year-old NFL player tied the knot in 2023. Owens (and his notebook) were in the stands alongside Biles' parents and family as she competed last week. A moment the gymnast will never forget.
"He was so excited," she said about Owens' first Olympics. "He was more excited to pin trade and obviously he loved going to see me compete. He was still keeping score. For him, it meant the world to him because he's seen the amount of hours that I've put in, so to actually see in person, he was like, 'Wow, this is amazing' and he was just so excited to be there."
While Biles' future in the sport hasn't been determined, she knows how she wants to be celebrated.
"Someone who loved the sport," she told Today. "Had fun doing it and was just authentically herself."
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