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Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles Slams Haters Talking Negatively About Her Hair: ‘Just Don’t’
Simone Biles with a message! The Olympic gymnast slammed haters who had negative things to say about how she wore her hair during the July 28 women’s gymnastics events.
“Don’t come for me about my hair. IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC & it’s like 9,000 degrees,” Simone, 27, wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, July 30. In the video clip, the Ohio native sat on a bus while she used a battery-operated fan to cool off.
“Oh & a 45 min ride,” she continued. In an additional slide, Simone added, “Gonna hold your hand when I say this, next time you wanna comment on a black girls hair. JUST DON’T.”
Simone’s sassy clapback follows a bombardment of comments online during the Sunday, July 28, artistic gymnastics women’s qualification event, where online users criticized her loosely knotted “messy” bun. Simone styled her dark hair in a slicked-back bun with loose ends poking out and completed the look with Team U.S.A.’s iconic navy blue leotard, adorned with bedazzled stars and sheer sleeves.
“I’m just trying to figure out why Simone Biles hair never done ? Like girllll come on. STILL LOVE HER AND HOPE SHE DOES GREAT!” the hater wrote. Meanwhile, another social media user added, “Simone Biles hair never being done properly be pissing me off. Everybody else on the team is put together, then she looks like she just rolled out of bed.”
“Simone Biles is a legend to say the least, but why is sis hair never done?” a third quipped.
However, fans of the Olympic athlete were quick to defend her, writing, “Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast of all time, yet some Black women would rather focus on criticizing her hair.”
Simone wore her hair in a similar style for the events on Tuesday, July 30, where she capped off an incredible floor routine to clinch the gold medal for Team U.S.A. Her first gold medal since adding three to her collection during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The eight-time Olympic medalist addressed comments about her appearance throughout her career in her new documentary, Simone Biles Rising, which premiered on Netflix on July 17.
“People hate my hair for meet days. ‘Her hair is all over the place! Look at it! It’s crazy,’” she explained. “But then again, we do it by ourselves. We’re not professionals. You just can’t win.”
In another scene, the professional athlete called 2016 an especially trying time, telling cameras that people were “way too comfortable commenting things.”
“So I try to silence the noise,” Simone continued. “I think the beauty standard … everything is just too much.
This isn’t the first time Simone has directly addressed the haters who had comments about how she styled her hair. The Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion author opened up earlier this month after learning to “love” her hair.
“I used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional but I’m not embarrassed about it anymore,” she told Elle on July 17. “Most of the backlash we get is from our own community, which is unfortunate. I don’t really care if my edges aren’t smooth.”
