MyKayla Skinner begged Olympics champion, Simon Biles, to ask her followers to stop cyberbullying her following her controversial comments on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.
Skinner took to social media to share a video where she asks Biles to “put a stop” to all the negativity surrounding their feud.
“I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn’t need to be revisited but unfortunately things have really gotten out of hand lately. And it’s one thing to disagree with me regarding something I have said or a point I was trying to make, but it’s something else entirely when that turns into cyberbullying or even worse,” Skinner said in the video she posted on Instagram. “Watching people cheer on the bullying — which has led to threats of physical harm to me my husband and our daughter — is disgusting. So please at this point, I’m just asking for it to stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough.”
Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Skinner made some unfortunate comments about her former teammates.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be,” Skinner said in a YouTube video. “I mean, obviously, a lot of girls just don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Although Skinner was not talking about Biles, the gymnast alluded to Skinner’s remarks in an Instagram post celebrating the team’s win at the Paris Olympics.
“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” Biles captioned the Instagram post.
Skinner said she takes full accountability for her comments adding, “About four weeks ago, I made a comment about work ethic and what seems to be taking pace with the rising generation. To be totally clear, I take 100 percent responsibility for poorly articulating the point I was trying to make and the last thing I wanted was to cause harm or offend our U.S. Olympic team. I know these women are incredible — the very best of the best — and almost all of them are my former teammates who I have enjoyed very much cheering on the last few years.”
The former gymnast said that she followed up with “individual messages to each of the women on the team.” Skinner said that Biles replied to her and told her she was proud of her and was “surprised” when Biles shared the Instagram post bringing back the controversial comments again.
“If Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent and if that’s really how she feels, I am really heartbroken over it,” Skinner added. “But not just heartbroken because it isn’t what I feel or even how I previously said, but because Simone’s latest post and others that followed it fueled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles and emails. Hate that includes death threats to me my family and even my agent. My family and my friends don’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire here. They’ve done nothing.”
Skinner then directed a message to Biles, saying, “To Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop. You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness and a lot of people need your help now. We’ve been attacked in ways that I’m certain you never intended. Your performance, the team’s performance and the Olympics in general should be a time that we support one another.”
Watch Skinner’s full video below.