Simone Biles Slams Former Teammate MyKayla Skinner In Harsh Post After Team USA Wins Gymnastics Gold At Paris Olympics

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, led by Simone Biles, secured gold in the team competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, cementing Biles’ status as the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history.

Biles, alongside teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey, delivered a commanding performance, outscoring second-place Italy by nearly five and a half points. The victory marks a triumphant return for Biles, who struggled with mental health issues during the Tokyo Olympics.

Following the win, Biles took to social media to address critics who had doubted the team’s abilities. In an Instagram post featuring the victorious squad, she pointedly captioned the image: “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”

The caption referenced comments made by former teammate MyKayla Skinner in a now-deleted YouTube video. Skinner had questioned the current team’s work ethic and talent level, suggesting that only Biles met the standards of previous years.

Skinner’s critique extended to the impact of SafeSport regulations on coaching practices, implying that restrictions on how coaches interact with athletes had negatively affected performance.

The controversy sparked a swift backlash from the gymnastics community. Biles responded on social media platform Threads, stating, “not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” Several team members, including Biles, Chiles, Lee and Carey, subsequently blocked Skinner on social media.

Facing widespread criticism, Skinner issued an apology. She acknowledged that her comments were inappropriate and explained that she had been comparing the current era to the coaching style of Marta Karolyi. Skinner admitted that unresolved trauma from her own experiences with verbal and emotional abuse may have influenced her remarks.

In 2021, Biles spoke to uInterview about the abuse investigation. “At the end of the day, we still need to know and have an independent investigation,” Biles said. “So, for some of us survivors it is disheartening to know that that hasn’t happened, and one of the survivors are still out there competing. I feel like they just want to sweep it under the rug but that’s not how to go about it.”