Simone Biles(l), MyKayla Skinner(r)

A.RICARDO/Shutterstock MyKayla Skinner/Youtube (Licensed)

‘Lack of talent, lazy’: Simone Biles shades MyKayla Skinner after winning gold, gets blocked

There is some Olympic-level drama with Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team.

 

Mike Hadge

Pop Culture

If you missed the caption in Simone Biles’s gold-winning Instagram post, it included a dig at a former Olympic teammate who said the team had a “lack of talent, lazy.” How did we get here?

There are a few absolutes in life—you know, just rules to always follow unless you’re a real sucka. These include such common sense as “don’t attempt to breathe underwater,” “don’t challenge a bear to a slap fight,” and, of course, “don’t doubt the 2024 Team USA women’s gymnastics team’s work ethic.” 

Sadly, MyKayla Skinner missed that last one.

MyKayla Skinner disses USA Olympic gymnastics team

The retired 27-year-old gymnast took to YouTube in late June to express her opinions. “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” Skinner said, adding that she probably could have made the team if she competed. Sure, Jan. 

The comments made the rounds and eventually led to MyKayla mayking a half-hearted apology, but it was too late. Without specifically mentioning MyKayla, Simone posted on Threads on July 3rd that “not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” 

In Body Image
@simonebiles/Threads

Even Jordan Chiles’s mom saw the thing…

Simone Biles fires back—and gets blocked

Well, after Team USA won the gold last night, Simone Biles seemingly threw some further shade MyKayla’s way, posting a photo on Instagram of the winning team with the caption simply, “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions.”

That is some Olympic gold-level shade, for sure. However, the saga continued today, as social media learned that MyKayla blocked Simone on socials, as evidenced by Jordan Chiles’ Instagram stories. 

Real mature, MyKayla! 

Social media reacts

Needless to say, social media users are here for the drama. 

How can we expect the rest of the Olympics to live up to this storyline? We just can’t, that’s how.


Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

 
The Daily Dot