Everyone might have their opinion about this year's U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. But not everyone chooses to share it.
One individual who did decide to weigh in is Olympic medalist MyKayla Skinner, who won silver on the vault at the 2021 Games.
Skinner's reaction to the 2024 team selection stirred up controversy. She criticized several of the athletes and didn't shy away from laying into the current state of U.S. gymnastics. That bounced back in Skinner's face Tuesday, as the 2024 team took home the gold medal in the team competition.
Simone Biles already called Skinner out before Tuesday's win, but took another shot at Skinner after Tuesday's win.
Skinner already replied to Biles once. After her mic drop Tuesday, Skinner might be hesitant to weigh in again, especially since Biles is in Paris, and Skinner is not.
MORE: Complete results from 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials
What did MyKayla Skinner say about the 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team?
A condensed version of Skinner's reaction to the final announcement of the 2024 Olympic team during a two-hour watch party on YouTube can be watched below. Several injuries sidelined top competitors before and during the Olympic trials, resulting in a team filled with mostly familiar faces from 2021.
Part 1: The gymnastics community cannot let these comments to be swept under the rug. I will be as respectful as possible to @mykaylaskinner but instead of engaging in meaningful conversation she blocks anyone who holds her accountable for her words. pic.twitter.com/Y69pwCxnUG
— Riley W (@gymguyri) July 3, 2024
"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.
She went on to say: "A lot of girls don't work as hard. It's hard too because of SafeSport. Coaches can't get on athletes which in some ways is really good but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be...a little aggressive, a little intense."
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is the independent, 501(c)(3) authority run by Congress created in 2017 "to prevent and respond to all forms of abuse and misconduct within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement." Skinner seemed to imply that SafeSport bars coaches from "aggressive" treatment of athletes, a particularly sensitive topic in U.S. gymnastics, which has been roiled by abuse scandals.
Skinner, 27, also said: "Not saying anything to the girls that got injured, but if I could come back, I think I would be able to do it. And I think I probably could've made that Olympic team."
What did Simone Biles respond to MyKayla Skinner?
Biles was concise and prompt in a seeming response to Skinner on Threads, writing: "Not everyone needs a mic and a platform." Biles was the only member of this year's U.S. Olympic team explicitly excluded from Skinner's harsh comments about the lack of "talent" and "depth."
Biles and Skinner were teammates on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic team. Though Biles didn't tag Skinner, the intended recipient seemed clear-cut to gymnastics observers.
Jordan Chiles' mother also chimed in on X, saying: "Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That's something...." Chiles was on the 2021 Olympic team as well, and so were Jade Carey and Suni Lee. All three will be joining Biles again this year alongside newcomer Hezly Rivera.
MORE: Meet the full roster for Paris, from Simone Biles to Hezly Rivera
MyKayla Skinner apologizes amid controversy
Skinner apologized on her Instagram story on July 3, saying: "I know we did the re-cap on YouTube and I feel like a lot of you guys had misinterpreted or misunderstood exactly what I was meaning or had said.
"A lot of the stuff I was talking about 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 and the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Marta [Karolyi] era.
"I’m not sticking up for Marta or saying what she did was good," Skinner continued. "I’m just saying it was different. So sorry for anything that got out of context or seemed hurtful; I love those girls and I'm seriously so happy for them so I would never do anything to make them feel otherwise."
Skinner offered another apology on her Instagram on July 6, saying: "I want to formally apologize to Team USA and to our gymnastic community for my comments during my recent YouTube episodes of the Gymnastics Olympic Trials. It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work. Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you.
"Upon reflection, I was comparing the 'Marta Era' to the current era. I am coming to terms that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments. I take full responsibility for what I said and deeply apologize."
MORE: Why USA gymnastics chose Hezly Rivera over Joscelyn Roberson
Simone Biles calls out 'lack of talent, lazy' comments
Biles still held a grudge against Skinner despite her apology.
After winning gold in the team competition at the 2024 Olympics, Biles posted a photo of her and her teammates to Instagram. The caption read, "lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions."
I can’t express enough how much I love that Simone Biles stayed focused, took care of business, but did not forget to come back and take care of a hater as soon as she got her work squared away. May we ALL. pic.twitter.com/Vq3Xy7oTIs
— Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) July 31, 2024
The post has since been deleted, but it's clear that Biles — and the rest of her Team USA counterparts — took Skinner's comments personally.
And Skinner may have taken Biles' jab personally as well. Biles noted that she had been blocked in a post to X (formerly Twitter).
oop I’ve been blocked 👀🫢😂
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) July 31, 2024
Biles didn't clarify by whom she was blocked, but the subtext suggests that it's Skinner.
MyKayla Skinner asks Simone Biles for help after death threats
Skinner once again took to social media to address her comments after Biles' post. She acknowledged it was OK for viewers to disagree with her comments but revealed she and her family had received death threats because of the incident.
"I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn’t need to be revisited but unfortunately, things have really gotten out of hand lately," Skinner lamented. "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."
"Watching people cheer on the bullying — which has led to threats of physical harm to me my husband and our daughter — is disgusting," she added. "So please at this point, I’m just asking for it to stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough."
Skinner further explained that she took full responsibility for her comments about Team USA's work ethic. She also detailed she had apologized multiple times for her comments and even individually responded to the women on the U.S. Gymnastics team.
"Only Simone had responded, and she told me that she was proud of me," Skinner explained. "You guys can imagine my surprise last week when I was celebrating our team winning gold just to see this brought up all over again by a caption on an Instagram post."
Skinner said she was "heartbroken" over the situation and how it has gone beyond her to impact those she deeply career about.
"If Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent," Skinner said. "And if that’s really how she feels, I am really heartbroken over it. 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," Skinner added. "They’ve done nothing."
That led Skinner to make a plea to Biles to help quash the torrent of hate she has received since her ill-fated remarks during the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials.
"To Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this," Skinner said. "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."
Biles hasn't yet responded to Skinner's post. It isn't yet clear if she will.
MyKayla Skinner Olympic record
Skinner was the 2021 Olympic vault silver medalist and an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. She also competed for the University of Utah's gymnastics team from 2016 to 2019 and was a two-time NCAA event champion.
After finishing fifth at the 2021 Olympic trials, Skinner was selected to a non-nominative spot at the Tokyo Games, meaning she would compete as an individual rather than on the four-member team.
She finished in 11th place in the all-around and fourth place on the vault, so she initially did not qualify to either final due to the two-per-country limitations, and Biles, Lee and Carey all finished ahead of her.
When Biles dropped out, though, Skinner took her place in the vault final, finishing second for the silver medal. Following the Olympic Games, she announced she would retire from competitive gymnastics and her career as an athlete came to an end.
