Gabby Douglas, Oprah Winfrey – Gabby Douglas, the gold medal Olympian sat down with Oprah Winfrey and recalled tales of being bullied at the gym where she trained in Virginia Beach. The 16-year old stated, “One of my teammates was like, ‘Can you scrape the bar? And they were like, ‘Why doesn’t Gabby do it, she’s our slave?’ I definitely felt isolated, I felt why am I deserving this? Is it because I’m black? Those thoughts would go through my mind.”
“Gabby’s remarks were hurtful and without merit,” Excalibur Gymnastics CEO Gustavo Maure said in a statement.”We’ve had more African Americans in elite and on the national team than any other gym in the country (5, 2 of them in Olympic Trials or Olympic Team Camp). Her African American former teammates will answer this serious accusation. (1st statement untruth, she was not the only African American gymnast training in the gym) We are good people. We never were knowingly involved in any type of bullying or racist treatment, like she is accusing Excalibur.”
The backlash over the comments will likely increase after Oprah’s Next Chapter airs.
Meanwhile Forbes has released its list for the highest paid celebrities and for the fourth year in a row Oprah Winfrey sits on top.
From May 2011 to May 2012 the media mogul raked in $125 million! Oprah’s diversified portfolio includes O: The Oprah Magazine, spin-off shows like The Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Phil, Rache Ray and a radio deal with Sirius.
