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Former Team USA gymnast MyKyla Skinner is urging Simone Biles to help stop "cyberbullying" from fans after the retired athlete criticized this year's Olympic stars.
On Tuesday (August 6), Skinner shared a video on Instagram, saying that she and her loved ones have experienced online bullying and "disgusting" threats of harm and death following her comments about this year's Team USA gymnasts.
"Things have really gotten out of hand lately,” Skinner said.
The retired gymnast's video comes after she faced widespread backlash for comments she made about the 2024 Olympic gymnasts in a June YouTube video.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be," Skinner, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Games, said in the now-deleted video. "Just notice, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. … The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Skinner later issued a public apology to Biles and her 2024 Team USA teammates, Jordan Chiles, Sunni Lee, Hezly Rivera, and Jade Carey. The former Olympian noted that Biles gracefully responded to her apology.
However, Biles appeared to reference Skinner's past criticism in an Instagram post where she celebrated Team USA taking home the gold in the women's gymnastics team final and other events.
“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” Biles captioned her post.
On Tuesday, Skinner suggested that Biles refueled fan criticism with her Instagram 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,” Skinner said in her video.
“We’ve been hurt and attacked in ways that I am certain you never intended," she continued. "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.”
Several social media users accused Skinner of victimizing herself after she was critical of Team USA.
“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," one social media user said.
“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,” another chimed in.
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