MyKayla Skinner Says She's Getting Death Threats

MyKayla Skinner says she's been getting death threats ever since Simone Biles brought renewed attention to comments she made about the current US women's gymnastics team competing at the Paris Olympics. Skinner, in a July video that she later deleted, bemoaned what she saw as a decrease in "talent" and "depth" on this year's team. That team, of course, ended up winning gold, leading Biles to post a victorious photo captioned, "Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions." In a new video Tuesday, Skinner said that's when the threats—to her, her family, and even her agent—started coming in. She personally appealed to Biles to ask her followers to stop the "cyberbullying," outlets including People and NBC News report.

Skinner, who has long been a controversial figure in the gymnastics world thanks to past actions seen as racist or otherwise unpalatable (Slate has a history here), says in the new video she's "heartbroken" if Biles truly believes that she thinks the current team is lazy or lacking in talent. She also says she was surprised by Biles' post (after which Skinner apparently blocked Biles) because Skinner apologized to all the team members after her July video initially sparked controversy, and Biles responded to say she was proud of Skinner. "You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness and a lot of people need your help now," Skinner says in the latest video, addressing Biles. "We've been hurt and attacked in ways that I'm certain you never intended." (More Simone Biles stories.)