MyKayla Skinner Seeks Simone Biles’ Help to End Cyberbullying

Retired Olympian MyKayla Skinner has sought the assistance of her former teammate Simone Biles to combat bullying comments and threats made online. This appeal comes after a feud between the two escalated following Team USA’s gold medal win at the Paris Olympics last week. The feud had already been simmering but reached a boiling point with the team’s victory.

Skinner, who captured Biles’ attention last month with a video criticizing the work ethic, talent, and depth of this year’s gymnastics team, posted a video on Instagram Tuesday claiming she has been a victim of cyberbullying since Biles responded with a cheeky Instagram caption. In her initial video, Skinner expressed doubts about the current team’s abilities, which did not sit well with many, including Biles.

Biles shared a photo of the gold medal-winning Olympic team waving the American flag with the caption, “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions,” seemingly in response to Skinner’s video. This post from Biles was interpreted as a direct rebuttal to Skinner’s critique. According to Skinner, Biles’ post incited “disgusting” online behavior directed at her and her family, sparking a wave of hostile comments and threats.

Biles’ post and others have “fueled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles, emails, and hate that includes death threats to me, my family, and even my agent,” Skinner said. The hostility did not stop at mere comments; it escalated to direct threats, which profoundly affected Skinner and her close circle.

In her most recent post, Skinner took “100% responsibility for poorly articulating the point I was trying to make” in the original video. She acknowledged the women of the U.S. gymnastics team as “incredible” and “the best of the best.” This was a significant shift from her earlier statements, showing a more conciliatory approach in the face of backlash.

Skinner mentioned that she sent individual apology messages to each team member and noted that Biles responded by saying she was “proud” of her. This communication occurred despite Biles posting immediately after the win that she had been blocked by Skinner on Instagram. This contradiction highlights the ongoing tension between the two athletes. Skinner concluded her post with a plea for Biles, who has not responded on Instagram or X, to “please put a stop to this.”

“To Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop,” Skinner said. “You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness, and a lot of people need your help now. We’ve been hurt and attacked in ways that I am certain you never intended.” Skinner’s public appeal underscores the severity of the situation and her belief that Biles influences to mitigate the ongoing harassment.

In a now-deleted YouTube video from early July, Skinner, 27, stated that she believed the most recent class of gymnasts lacked the “talent and depth” of previous teams. She claimed that many gymnasts, except Biles, did not work as hard and lacked the necessary work ethic. Biles responded on Threads, saying, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” This exchange set the stage for the public feud that followed.

After Team USA earned the gold medal in women’s gymnastics, Biles posted her headline-making response along with several group photos of the team on Instagram. Suni Lee, a member of the U.S. team, commented, “Put a finger down if Simone Biles just ended you.” This comment added fuel to the fire, further highlighting the divide between Skinner and her former teammates. Skinner hadn’t posted to Instagram until Tuesday’s video, marking her return to the platform amid the controversy.

The number of Olympics Biles and Skinner competed in together is two. Skinner was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team in Brazil and earned a non-nominative spot for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, allowing her to compete in individual competitions but not as part of the four-member U.S. team. When Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics citing mental health issues, Skinner took a qualifying spot for the individual vault competition and won a silver medal. She retired from the sport later that year. Skinner’s Olympic journey, intertwined with Biles’, adds a layer of complexity to their current feud, rooted in shared experiences and diverging paths.