The Olympics are all about good, healthy competition between athletes from different countries. But every once in a while, some shade is thrown.
This year, there’s been some tension between two athletes from the same country, and the internet can’t seem to get enough of it.
One of America’s most beloved Olympic gymnasts, gold medalist Simone Biles, recently got into a bit of a tiff with former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner, who won a silver medal in the 2020 Olympic Games.
MyKayla shocked internet users earlier this summer when she posted a video to her YouTube channel making some displeasing comments about the 2024 U.S. women’s gymnastics team, which consists of star athletes Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera, who have each earned gold medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In MyKayla’s YouTube video, which has since been deleted, she stated that “besides Simone,” the girls on the 2024 gymnastics team seemed to lack “talent and depth” and don’t have the same “work ethic” that former teams have had.
“I just noticed, like, I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard,” said MyKayla in her video.
Although MyKayla’s video was deleted, many clips from it resurfaced on the internet. Fans of the 2024 team were very upset, and as MyKayla faced backlash, she later posted on her Instagram story that she did not intend to offend or disrespect any of the competing athletes.
MyKayla’s words did clearly stand out to some of those athletes, especially Simone Biles, who, after the U.S. team won their gold medals, posted a picture of them beaming in Paris with the subtly shady caption, “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”
The “iconic” caption had many gymnastics fans who were already caught up in the drama with MyKayla reeling, and things only progressed from there.
TikTok – pictured above is Simone
Not long after making her legendary Instagram post, Simone went to X to post that she had been blocked by someone, and it didn’t take people long to figure out that she had been blocked by MyKayla on Instagram.
It was confirmed that MyKayla was indeed the person to block Simone following her amazing performance in Paris after fellow teammate Jordan Chiles shared a picture of Simone’s Instagram account, unable to access MyKayla’s, with the caption, “When she blocks Simone.”
MyKayla has yet to make an official comment on the matter, but she did appear to try to make peace after reposting a photo of the 2024 team with their gold medals along with three heart emojis on her Instagram story.
Now, not only is Simone Biles, often referred to as the G.O.A.T, the current ‘queen of gymnastics,’ but she’s also the queen of subtly clapping back at those who doubt her or her teammates without naming names.
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