How Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner went from Olympics teammates to bitter enemies after USA icon’s brutal Instagram comment
After their gold medal in Paris, Simone Biles couldn’t resist defending her Olympic teammates, including taking a shot at an old teammate.
Biles helped the U.S. win its first team gymnastics final since 2008 on Tuesday, with a score of 171.296 that was enough to beat closest rivals Italy and Brazil.
And just hours later, the 27-year-old took aim at her former teammate MyKayla Skinner as she celebrated the current team’s historic success on Instagram.
Biles shared a photo of himself, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey and Suni Lee holding up the American flag with the caption: “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions.”
The sarcastic comment was, of course, a dig at Skinner, who has stirred controversy by questioning the work ethic and dedication of this year’s Olympic team.
Simone Biles took to Instagram this week to take aim at her former Olympic teammate MyKayla Skinner (left)
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and depth just isn’t what it used to be,” MyKayla, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said in a since-deleted YouTube video earlier this month.
“The girls just don’t have the right work ethic.”
Despite Skinner excluding her from the brutal judging, Biles sparked a feud with her former gymnastics buddy by attacking her on social media.
The American Olympic legend took a thinly veiled dig at Skinner, writing on Threads: “Not everyone needs a microphone and a platform.”
She and several other gymnasts, including Chiles, Lee and Carey, also blocked Skinner on social media after her comments.
While they may not have been the best of friends, Biles and Skinner had known each other for quite some time and hit it off well after both representing the US at the 2014 World Championships in Nanning.
Biles was referring to Skinner’s controversial opinion on the current U.S. gymnastics team after their gold medal victory on Tuesday
While she excluded Simone from her criticism, MyKayla said the team lacked a “work ethic”
Biles was not happy with her ex-teammate’s words, despite being left out of the criticism
Seven years later, they both won Olympic medals in Tokyo, despite Biles having withdrawn from several events due to a case of “twisties” – a mental block in which a gymnast loses control of his body during an aerial spin.
Skinner took silver on the vault after Biles stepped back. It was one of her greatest achievements as a gymnast, after also winning gold four times at the world championships.
Three years later, the gymnastics duo, who once considered themselves teammates and friends, are now on icy terms.
When Biles took a thinly veiled dig at her earlier this month, Skinner backtracked, claiming her comments had simply been taken out of context.
“I feel like a lot of you misinterpreted or misunderstood what exactly I meant or said,” she wrote on Instagram.
“A lot of the things I talked about weren’t necessarily about the current team. I love all the girls that made it and I support them so much. I’m so proud of them.
‘It was more about getting back to my own gym and the work ethic is different than when we did gymnastics at Marta [Karolyi] era. And I’m not defending Marta or saying what she did was right, I’m just saying it was different.’
While they may not have been the best of friends, Biles and Skinner — pictured here together heading to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — have known each other for quite some time
Biles took a thinly veiled dig at her old gymnastics buddy earlier this month
Skinner continued to congratulate the American team on social media after their success in Paris
But after the team’s victory in the French capital this week, Biles showed she doesn’t believe that excuse by smearing the former US star.
Another former American gymnast, McKayla Maroney, supported Skinner in her conflict by criticizing her herself on Instagram.
“It doesn’t get more iconic than this,” Maroney responded to Biles’ post. “She hung around and figured it out.”
Maroney then joked that she had the same nickname as Skinner. “I feel like I have to apologize to save my first name.”
While her beef with Biles and the current U.S. squad continues, Skinner still celebrated their gold medal on Tuesday.
The three-time world champion posted a photo of the team with their medals on her Instagram Story, accompanied by three heart emojis.
Still, it remains to be seen whether her friendship with Biles is now irreparably damaged.