Boasting numerous Olympic medals – including four golds – as well as 30 World Championship medal – including 23 golds – it should go without saying that Simone Biles is one of the most gifted athletes of her generation.
Scratch that. What we should say is that Simone Biles is widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, and her storied career has captured the hearts of people around the world.
In short, she’s an immensely popular figure, and it was to the pleasure of the masses that the diminutive sensation flaunted her skills once again this summer at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
If you’re even remotely aware of the struggles Biles endured before, during and after the last Olympics in Tokyo, the 27-year-old’s triumphant story becomes all the more impressive.
It should be remembered that away from the gravity-defying flips, cat-like feats of balance, and all the fame and fortune that comes with being blessed with the abilities Biles possesses, she is a human being, and as such is at the mercy of the same trials and tribulations as the rest of us.
Which is why is somewhat beggars belief that people feel they have a right to criticize and comment negatively on pictures relating to her personal life. Look, I get it, freedom of speech means that individuals can flex their fingers online and say pretty much anything they want to without fear of reprisal, especially so where it pertains to people in the public eye.
And yet as society strives to shift towards always being kind to others, I’m left wondering how and why some people can’t help but belittle and point out the flaws in others.
I should clarify that I’m not talking about online users necessarily saying tasteless things about Biles’s performances as a gymnast – though if you look hard enough you’ll likely find that too, in spite of her obvious greatness.
No, I’m talking about certain comments left on the pictures from a photoshoot after her courthouse wedding to NFL star Jonathan Owens last year.
Biles and Owens met via a dating site in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and by 2022 the pair had become engaged to one another.
It was over a year later that the new ‘IT’ couple finally got to tie the knot, and it was a simple affair, with just the two of them and a judge in attendance. Biles and Owen explained that they were planning a more extravagant destination wedding, but wanted to get officially married in the US first.
As with most newlyweds, they were quick to share photos from their special day; Biles reportedly wore a white tiered midi dress worth just $120 and shoes that cost $35, which she bought on sale.
But while some people praised Biles for her outfit – the gymnast admitted she ordered everything the week of, from her dress, shoes, wedding bands, and even her bouquet – there were others who took it upon themselves to criticize her.
As per reports, now-deleted tweets claimed at the time that Biles’ hair looked “unkempt” in the photos, while others said she “should’ve laid the edges” and “could’ve at least gotten a lace in front.”
What followed was a debate between her fans and her detractors, with Biles herself eventually weighing in on the matter.
Taking to X, the superstar athlete tweeted: “I think they also forget I live in HOUSTON TEXAS & I sweat those out!! Soon as we stepped outside for pics. But they can keep complaining idc idc idc.”
In May 2023, Biles and Owens said their vows in Cabo, Mexico, in front of 144 guests at their more-extensively-planned destination wedding.
