Simone Biles threw shade back at ex-teammate MyKayla Skinner after Team USA won Olympic gold in the women’s all-around gymnastics final.
July 31, 2024, published at 2:56 PM ET
Simone Biles has fired back at her critics – and former teammate MyKayla Skinner – after winning gold at the Olympic Games in Paris this week.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that Biles, 27, rushed to Instagram on Tuesday after she and Team USA reclaimed Olympic gold in the women’s all-around gymnastics final.
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Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, posted a photo of herself and her teammates celebrating their Olympic victory and wrote: “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”
The social media post appeared to be a direct jab at Skinner, who criticized Team USA’s gymnastics team ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Skinner focused on Biles, Suni Lee21, Jordan Chiles23, Jade Carey24, and Hezly Rivera16, about their “work ethic” in a since-deleted YouTube video.
She said: “Other than Simone, I feel like the talent and depth just isn’t what it used to be. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
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Skinner, 27, criticized Team USA’s gymnastics team ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Skinner, who retired from artistic gymnastics in August 2021, also referenced the US Center for SafeSport – a non-profit organization founded in March 2017 to stop the sexual abuse of minors and athletes in US Olympic sports.
She continued: “And it’s also difficult because of SafeSport. For example, coaches cannot harass athletes, and they must be very careful what they say.”
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“Which is very good in some ways. But at the same time, to get where you need to be in gymnastics, you have to be, in my opinion, a little bit aggressive and a little bit intense.
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Several American gymnasts blocked Skinner on social media after the surprising YouTube video. Biles also responded to Threads, writing, “Not everyone needs a microphone and a platform.”
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Biles shared a photo of her and her team celebrating their Olympic victory and wrote, “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”
In a follow-up video, Skinner apologized for her comments. She cited the “emotional and verbal abuse” she suffered under former USA Gymnastics national team coordinator Márta Károlyi and wished the team good luck at the Paris Olympics.
Skinner said: “I would like to apologize to Team USA and to our gymnastics community for my comments during my recent YouTube episodes of the Olympic Gymnastics Trials.
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“It was not my intention to insult or disrespect any of the athletes, or to take away from their hard work.”
She continued: “On reflection, I compared the ‘Márta era’ to the current era.”
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“I have come to the conclusion that I have not yet fully resolved the matter emotional and verbal abuse I put up with it under Marta, which may have led to my hurtful comments. I take full responsibility for what I said and sincerely apologize.”
Biles, who last competed with Skinner during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyoreturned to social media later Wednesday to say she had been “blocked” by her ex-teammate.
The five-time Olympic gold medalist wrote on X: “Oops, I’m blocked.”
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