Simone Biles Claps Back at Former Gymnast MyKayla Skinner Who Criticized Team USA: 'Lack of Talent, Lazy, Olympic Champions'

In a now-deleted video, Skinner claimed that the current USA gymnastics team, with the exception of Biles, lacked "work ethic."

July 31, 2024

Simone Biles in a gymnastics uniform with stars and stripes, holding chalk at a competition — Getty Images

Simone Biles threw some not-so-subtle shade at MyKayla Skinner with her latest Instagram post.

In a now-deleted YouTube video shared to her channel earlier this month, Skinner made comments criticizing the U.S. gymnastics team currently competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to People, the former gymnast criticized Team USA for their lack of "work ethic."

"Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be," Skinner said in the video, as seen in a reupload of the clip. "I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic."

In the clip, Skinner also suggested that changes in coaching and abuse awareness programs like SafeSport have altered the training environment.

After winning gold for Team USA on Monday night, Biles shared a series of photos of the squad—including Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera posing together to mark the special occasion. Biles used the post as an opportunity to clapback at Skinner’s disparaging comments about the team.

“lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸,” wrote Biles, 27.

McKayla Maroney, who went viral for her "unimpressed" expression after winning silver during the 2012 London Olympics, wrote in the comments, "It doesn’t get more iconic than this.. She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name."

Maroney is likely referring to Team USA’s current nickname, which Biles revealed during a press conference is "F.A.A.F.O.," an acronym for "fuck around and find out." Later on X, Biles clarified that the official team names is actually "golden girls" because they are the "oldest olympic team."

After receiving backlash for her comments, Skinner claimed on her Instagram Story that the comments on her July 3 video were "misinterpreted," saying that the majority of the YouTube video "wasn't always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it and I'm so proud of them."

"It was more about going back into my own gym, just the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the [former team coordinator] Márta [Károlyi] era. And I'm not sticking up for Márta or saying what she did was good, I'm just saying it was different," Skinner said, per People.

"So anyway, sorry for anything that got out of context or seemed hurtful. That is never my intention. And seriously, throughout the video, I was so pumped for the girls, and it was so fun watching trials and doing a live with everybody," she added.

In response to her clap back, Biles shared via X that she was now blocked by Skinner.

"oop I’ve been blocked," Biles shared online.