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Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne has responded to a fan who left a derogatory comment on one of her TikTok videos.
Dunne, 20, responded to the sleazy comment, which read simply “mommy” and the heart emoji, with a video in which she says: “No, I’m not going to crush your skull with my thighs.” Besides, I’m not your mommy.
The incident comes just weeks after Dunne came forward to address ‘concerning’ behavior by male fans at meets and competitions. She also spoke of the ‘threatening’ comments she receives online.
The college athlete and TikTok star has amassed quite a fan following over the past year, but in recent months he has been outspoken about the unfortunate bullying that accompanied it.
In January, LSU said the team had hired additional security after “rude” teenagers tried to harass Dunne at an event in Utah.
Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne, 20, has responded to a fan who left a derogatory comment on one of her TikTok videos.
LSU’s Dunne warms up on the uneven bars during a gymnastics match against Auburn at Neville Arena on February 10.
“They gave us some new rules, just to keep us safe: no entry into the stands after the competitions and we have a new security person traveling with us,” Dunne said on the Today show.
The recent incident involving Utah fans wasn’t the first time their coaches raised concerns for their safety. He also revealed that LSU went to the police last year “over an incident,” but did not share any other details.
‘As a woman, you are not responsible for how a man looks at you and objectifies you. That’s not a woman’s responsibility,’ she said.
Her overwhelming stardom on social media has forced both her and her coaches to implement new rules and regulations around athlete safety.
‘[Social media] it changes everything,’ said Dunne’s LSU coach Jay Clark. ‘It creates a false sense of accessibility and familiarity that [makes] followers feel there is a personal connection.’
That was exemplified during the LSU meet in Utah.
‘So in the past, some of my supporters have come out to meetings and watched and cheered on LSU, but that was crazy. It really was,” Olivia said of the disturbing incident.
At the time, Olivia shared a personal plea with her fans on Twitter, asking them to “be respectful” of her fellow gymnasts.
“I will always appreciate and love your support but if you come to a meeting I want to ask you to be respectful of other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job,” she wrote.
Dunne’s stardom has become so intense recently that his followers have begun waiting outside meetings.
Dunne (pictured Jan. 13) hasn’t been in the team’s games recently due to injury.
Dunne’s LSU coach, Jay Clark, said he wanted to make sure fans were able to get autographs from the gymnasts, but insisted his athlete’s safety was a priority.
Clark said Tuesday that a security officer will now travel with the team to competitions for the remainder of the season.
“That person will be at our hotel and out of our locker room and will drive us to and from the bus on the spot,” he told The Advocate/Times-Picayune. ‘[The officer] You will be there to create a perimeter that will keep everyone safe.
Clark said she wanted to make sure fans were able to get autographs from the gymnasts, but insisted that the athletes’ safety was a priority.
‘Things have to change. We just can’t expose them,” Clark added. “We are looking at some policy changes that will give fathers access to a different place than their daughters.”
Dunne is now among several female athletes joining the ranks of millionaires through name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, a recent phenomenon that allows collegiate athletes to generate separate income and profit from their careers.
Dunne has earned nearly $2 million a year from endorsements and photos on social media.
After years of competition, she made her elite debut at the 2014 American Classic and joined the US Gymnastics National Team three years later. In 2020, she stepped away from elite gymnastics to compete at the collegiate level at LSU.
The LSU gymnastics team is adding an extra layer of security for the rest of the season after a gang of ‘rude’ teens tried to harass Dunne at an event in Utah.
Dunne has earned nearly $2 million a year from endorsements and photos on social media.
Her recent income comes from her rise as an influencer: she posts sponsored ads on her social media pages.
Some of his recent deals have been with American Eagle Outfitters and Vuori activewear.
She increased her social media following by sharing an inside look into her life as an NCAA gymnast, becoming the most followed college athlete on the web with more than 2.3 million followers on Instagram and 6.3 million on TikTok.
But initially he was not allowed to make money from his Internet efforts, due to the NCAA’s strict policy on the sale of endorsements by its members.
That is, until June 30, 2021, when the organization changed its rules, announcing that it would allow its athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness.
A month later, Olivia signed with Endeavor Talent Agency’s WME Sports, and in September, announced that she had partnered with sportswear brand Vuori, which Forbes reported was worth “six-figure tights.”
When it comes to gymnastics, Dunne is ‘getting back into the swing of things’ after a foot injury last year.
Although she was not competing, on Friday night at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, her team narrowly beat the University of Florida 198,100 to 197,975, Florida’s first loss of the season.