Simone Biles might be a public figure valiantly representing her country at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but some topics are off-limits particularly her hair. The 27-year-old gymnast has thrilled Americans and the rest of the world with her outstanding performance at the Olympics so far, qualifying for all four events at the gymnastics finals and debuting new moves. This level of recognition comes with lots of pressure on and off the arena. Hence, worrying about those nit-picking her looks is the last thing Simone wants to deal with, especially with the sweltering heat waves sweeping through Paris.
Yet, some critics are apparently bent on pushing her hands with snide comments about her hair at the Olympics. The five-time Olympic gold medalist took to her Instagram stories on Tuesday to respond to these critics, reminding them to keep their opinions to themselves. Sharing two Instagram stories covering her 45-minute bus ride in Paris with other Olympic athletes, Simone Biles dished her stern warning in the most not-so-subtle way.
Simone Biles Hit Back at Hair Critics
One of the posts featured a video of the gymnast using a handheld rechargeable fan to beat the heat. In the shot, Simone looked stunning in a black tank top, with her hair styled in a ruffled ponytail. She captioned the video,
“Don’t come for me about my hair. It was DONE but the bus has no A & it’s like 9000 degrees.”
As a footnote, the star included that the bus ride took 45 minutes in those sweltering conditions. Simone Biles followed up the video with a snap of herself on the bus, still sporting the same hair pulled up in a ponytail. The pic showed her smiling with her eyes closed as she issued a warning via caption saying,
“Gonna hold your hand when I say this… Next time you want to comment on a black girl’s hair, JUST DON’T.”
The 27-year-old has been vocal about her hair journey and dealing with the constant backlash faced as a result. In a recent interview with Elle, Simone Biles admitted she felt self-conscious about her hair for the longest time, always fearing it looked unprofessional. However, she learned to embrace her hair type with time, and stopped feeling “embarrassed by it anymore.”
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Simone Biles in Sheer Leotard Gets Naughty After Scoring First Place on Injured Foot at the OlympicsSadly, her transformative journey to self-acceptance did not stop critics from airing their misguided views about her hair. Last year, she endured criticism over her choice of hairstyle during her wedding to husband Johnathan Owens. Simone Biles’ hair has also racked up some unpleasant comments, even as she leads the USA women’s gymnastics team to excellence at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This time, however, the athlete isn’t taking the backlash sitting down, opting to pay back critics in their own coin.
