Retired gymnast Mykayla Skinner Harmer says backlash for her critical comments about her contemporaries has become too much to bear. And in an unexpected turn of events, she is now asking her former teammate Simone Biles to intervene.
In an Aug. 6 Instagram post pleading for a break from the online critics, Skinner said, “Things have really gotten out of hand lately,” adding that she and her family and friends have been enduring “cyberbullying,” including “disgusting” threats of physical harm and death.
“Enough is enough…I take 100 percent responsibility for poorly articulating the point I was trying to make” she said. Biles and her Team USA teammates, Jordan Chiles, Sunni Lee, Hezly Rivera, and Jade Carey, just completed a victorious series of performances at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Columbus, Ohio, native became the nation’s most decorated Olympic gymnast, adding four medals — three gold and one silver — to her collection, bringing her lifetime total to 11.
When the collective took top honors with their floor routines last week, Biles marked the milestone with a carousel of photos of them celebrating. She captioned the post, “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” a veiled reply to Skinner that fans picked up on.
Skinner’s feet, so to speak, have been held to the fire after a since-deleted YouTube video she posted in June became a viral talking point. In it, she said, “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. Just notice, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. … The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
The new mom last competed in the 2021 Games, when she filled in for Biles after she was unable to compete in a number of events due to suffering from what was variously described as disorienting affliction called “the “twisties.”
Skinner won her only medal, a silver one, when she completed an impressive vault performance.
Since her July 6 apology on X, her acknowledgment of the fallout from her remarks included reiterating that she publicly apologized to each of the women, noting that Biles was the only gymnast who responded — gracefully at that — and again in a post explaining she did not intend to discredit the athletes with her remarks.
For all those wondering, here's the lowdown on MyKayla Skinner 's situation calling the US Gymnastics team lack of talent and lazy 😳👀 pic.twitter.com/NDXIYqJvSQ
— Sophie Rain Thread 🔥❤️ (@SophieRainForum) July 31, 2024
Still, Skinner claimed that Biles ignited a storm of criticism with her celebratory post last week. Even now, Skinner places the onus to put a stop to the “hateful comments” directly on Biles. Amid the last week’s wave of blowback at Skinner, Biles revealed that Skinner blocked her on social media. She also was not tagged by Skinner in the post.
“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,” said Skinner in her plea.
She continued, “We’ve been hurt and attacked in ways that I am certain you never intended. Your performance and the team’s performance and the Olympics in general should be a time that we support one another and lift our country up.”
Her comments were limited, leaving room for only supporters to weigh in. They wrote things like, “For someone who promotes how important mental health is, I have been sad to see how yours has not been taken into consideration.”
But elsewhere online, the GOAT Olympian’s supporters were swift in calling out Skinner for what countless people saw as an attempt to shame Biles into defending her.
“What’s also unacceptable is her using Simone’s mental health struggles and advocation to guilt trip her when her own comments could’ve impacted the rest of Team USA’s mental health as well,” posed one person on X.
Another said, “Not MyKayla Skinner turning on the white woman tears and trying to paint Simone Biles as the bully. Absolutely typical. Girl, it’s not even the “lazy” comment people are calling you out on anymore. It’s YEARS of bullying other gymnasts.”
Many fans brought up Skinner’s mistreatment of her other teammates, including Gabby Douglas.
In 2016, Skinner failed to make the USA Olympic team heading to the Olympics in Rio. Skinner reacted by retweeting several controversial and racist posts on Twitter. One of the posts was a photoshopped image of her face over Gabby Douglas, implying that she should have made the team over the history-making Olympian.
Someone else felt the blowback Skinner was facing was deserved and wrote, “She shoulda STFU, sat there and ate her damn food. Bikes set BOUNDARIES for her teammates and her to maintain good mental fitness. Makayla Skinner should fade back into obscurity, right where she belongs.”
Biles has opened up about her mental health in the past, revealing she was hesitant to start therapy after withdrawing from several events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Biles and her teammates are done with their competitions but will remain in Paris for closing ceremonies on Aug. 11. At 27, the superstar gymnast is the oldest to compete on the mat this year. Thus far, she has not announced plans to retire.
you guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 4, 2024
