Unpacking the beef between Olympic American gymnasts Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner
It’s been a great week for Simone Biles, that’s for sure. Not only did Biles and Team USA win the gold medal in the team final on Tuesday 30 July 2024 at the Paris Olympics, but the gymnast also won her second all-around gymnastics title, cementing her into history as one of the most decorated athletes of all time. Yet, it’s not only Biles’ stellar performance that made the headlines but also the shots she fired at her former USA teammate, MyKayla Skinner. So if you haven’t had time to follow the two Olympians’ complex beef, here’s a complete breakdown of the drama. We recommend that you fasten your seatbelts because we’re in for a wild ride!
What happened between Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner?
Let’s start right at the beginning: Skinner competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the US gymnastics team, which was also the year Simone Biles decided to pull out. In case you don’t remember, Biles withdrew from multiple events at the last Summer Olympics to prioritise her mental health and safety. She had experienced the ‘twisties’, a gymnastics term describing a dangerous phenomenon that acrobats experience in which they lose their perception of their body while in the air, making it incredibly unsafe for Biles to compete.
Although her decision was dubbed as brave and a show of strength during a time that forced many of us to reevaluate our health and acknowledge our limitations (aka surviving a global pandemic), fellow gymnast Skinner slammed Biles for her lack of “work ethic” in a since-deleted YouTube video posted in July.
Biles’ teammates were also not spared by the former athlete turned sports commentator.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” Skinner bemoaned about the rest of Team USA, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera.
At the time, Biles wrote on Threads: “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” Shots fired.
It should come to no one’s surprise that these comments were met with backlash both within and outside of the gymnastics community. Especially since the Olympians decidedly proved Skinner wrong by absolutely dominating this year’s Games and finishing top in all four disciplines: floor, uneven bars, vault, and balance beam.
And to make sure that Skinner knew exactly how wrong she was, Biles captioned the picture of their win on Instagram with “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.” The plot thickens.
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Significantly changing her tone, Skinner posted a picture of the team on her Instagram story with heart emojis over it to celebrate their win.
She also released a corresponding apology: “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. 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 everyone one of you.”
Netizens couldn’t get enough of Biles’ subtle jabs, which quickly went viral. After all, there is nothing better than watching people being put in their place for all the right reasons.
Of course, Skinner wasn’t too pleased with how the internet suddenly turned against her, something Biles picked up on quite quickly.
“Oops, I’ve been blocked,” Biles tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, 1 August.
And although Simone didn’t share any further details, her teammate Jordan Chiles quickly came through with some receipts. On her Instagram story, Chiles shared a picture depicting her and Biles viewing Skinner’s Instagram page on Biles’ phone. Chiles wrote “When she blocks Simone” over a picture of the profile that showed “no posts available”—a sign that the athlete has in fact been blocked.
Skinner hasn’t commented on her decision to block Biles yet. Let’s hope she articulates her thoughts this time in a kinder way that is more appreciative of these women’s victories. We’ll be sure to keep you posted if anything else unfolds!
