Simone Biles has become one of the standout stars of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The multi-medal-winning gymnast also expressed being annoyed by production workers during the floor exercise competition.
“If one of these cameramen hit me one more time, We’re going to have an issue,” Simone Biles could be heard telling someone during the NBC broadcast on Aug. 5.
Footage of Biles’ warning to the person behind the camera made its way to X. Many of the American athlete’s fans on social media jumped to her defense.
“She said what she said! Step Back!” one person tweeted in response to the video of Simone Biles’ gripe about the cameramen at the Paris Olympics.
Another person complained, “They’re so freaking invasive.” Similarly, an X user posted, “It’s true, like it’s one thing to be in her face but why the f—k you so close that she can’t even move.”
Other Olympic watchers applauded Simone Biles for standing up for herself. For instance, a Biles backer wrote, “Okay, so maybe this is my new favorite moment of the #Olympics now… I love how unfiltered Simone was during these games. Just hilarious.”
Simone Biles came in second place in the Paris Olympic floor exercise finals. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade finished atop the floor exercise standings.
Additionally, Biles took home gold in the 2024 individual all-around and vault events. The 27-year-old Texas native won four medals in Paris and has 11 Olympic medals overall.
Biles also won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics as part of the U.S. team’s victory in the all-around competition. Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Hezly Rivera made up the rest of the squad.
Simone Biles’ time in Paris has included some negative press as well. Her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, faced backlash for wearing his wife’s gold medal in a picture posted to Instagram.
Numerous social media users took issue with Owens supposedly trying to overshadow his wife. In a video shared on TikTok, content creator Kiera Breaugh blasted the Chicago Bears safety for putting Biles’ medal around his neck for a photo.
Simone Biles directly responded to Kiera Breaugh’s rant. The most decorated gymnast in U.S. history called out her husband’s critics with a comment on Breaugh’s TikTok account.
“Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures,” Biles explained. “So don’t ever make assumptions. Like y’all are so f—king miserable. Leave us alone.”
Simone Biles began dating Owens in August 2020 after connecting on the Raya dating app. The sports couple announced their engagement two years later and wed in April 2023.
“I love you so much baby,” Owens wrote in the caption for a celebratory post about Biles’ successful run at the Paris Olympics. “You accomplish whatever you set your mind to, and do it with so much grace.”
