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Simone Biles four-word response to McKayla Skinner amid feud

July 31, 2024


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It’s been a hell of a week for Simone Biles. Earlier this week, the superstar gymnast earned her fifth Olympic gold medal, which — along with two silver medals and a bronze — makes her the most decorated woman Olympic gymnast of all time. But even with all these feats to her credit, one simply can’t please everybody.

Though Biles’ former USA Gymnastics teammate Mykayla Skinner has previously sung Biles’ praises, Biles didn’t appreciate comments Skinner made about the USA Women’s Gymnastics team selection ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. In a since-deleted YouTube video, Skinner said “Besides Simone [Biles], I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be…A lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”

mykayla skinner simone biles 2021
Mykayla Skinner and Simone Biles of Team United States pose for a photo during Women’s Podium Training ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 22, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan….


Patrick Smith/Getty Images

But Biles wasn’t going to have anyone coming for her team. After the USA Women’s Gymnastics team won team gold, Biles took to Instagram on Tuesday, July 30, to share photos of herself and her teammates. She seemingly clapped back at Skinner, captioning the post “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions.”

It appears Skinner caught the shade, and possibly blocked Biles on social media. Shortly after making the post, Biles wrote on X (formerly Twitter) today, saying, “oop I’ve been blocked.”

Though Biles didn’t mention anyone by name, fans immediately put two and two together, and figured that Biles was talking about Skinner.

Biles’ teammate, Jordan Chiles, later shared a Instagram story with a picture of Biles’ phone on Skinner’s Instagram page, showing that Skinner did indeed block Biles. So it’s safe to say this feud isn’t dying down anytime soon.

In her career, Biles has certainly blazed trails in the realm of gymnastics. But the more things change in the landscape of sports, one age-old adage holds true; haters are gonna hate.