MyKayla Skinner Reacts to Team USA Gymnasts Winning Gold After Controversial Comments

MyKayla Skinner gave a subtle tribute to Simone Biles and the Team USA gymnasts after their 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal win, just weeks after her controversial “work ethic” comments.

By Rachel McRady Jul 31, 2024 2:29 PM
| Updated Jul 31, 2024 3:25 PM
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Watch: MyKayla Skinner Apologizes Again After Backlash for Shading USA Gymnastics Team

MyKayla Skinner is showing her support for the Team USA gymnasts after their dominance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic athlete was among the many showing love for Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera amid their gold medal-winning performance during the team all-around final July 30, reposting a photo of the five athletes and adding three heart emojis.

The subtle support comes as just weeks after Skinner came under fire for comments she made about the team which Biles seemingly referenced in her own Instagram post celebrating the team’s win.

Sharing a pic with her teammates, Biles—who became the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history with her most recent gold medal—wrote, “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions."

The caption seemingly referred to Skinner’s since-deleted YouTube video where she criticized the five Olympians who qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics team.

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2024 Olympics: Athletes Who Made History in Paris

“Besides Simone I feel like the talent and the depth isn’t what it used to be,” Skinner said in early July. “I just noticed, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls don’t have the work ethic.”

The 27-year-old later clarified her comments, saying she felt viewers had “misinterpreted or misunderstood” what she was saying.

"A lot of the stuff that I was talking about wasn't always necessarily about the current team,” Skinner said, “because I love and support all the girls that made it and I'm so proud of them."

MyKayla Skinner/Instagram

Skinner previously apologized for how her comments were perceived. "I love those girls and I'm seriously so happy for them," Skinner said at the time. "I would never do anything to make them feel otherwise. So, sorry if that came out wrong, that was not my intentions at all."

Despite the clarification, Biles didn’t appear to take kindly to Skinner’s comments, posting on a Thread at the time, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.”

The silver medalist—she placed second in the women's vault in Tokyo—added that she’d made the comments after returning to her own gym, where she felt the “work ethic is different.”

Sheng Jiapeng/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

Skinner previously apologized for how her comments were perceived. "I love those girls and I'm seriously so happy for them," she said at the time. "I would never do anything to make them feel otherwise. So, sorry if that came out wrong, that was not my intentions at all."

Despite the clarification, Biles didn’t appear to take kindly to her former teammate’s comments, posting on Threads at the time, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.”

Drama aside, Team USA dominated the mat on July 30 at the women's gymnastics final. Read on for more from their impressive victory. 

Golden Performance

Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Simone Biles, Jade Carey and Suni Lee celebrated after winning gold.

Gold Zone

The Team USA gymnasts had some fun with their medals on the podium after winning the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final.

Victory Lap

Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles waved the national flag around the arena to celebrate their win.

They Did It!

The team was all smiles after hearing they had won the gold.

Strut Your Stuff

Biles looked confident as she performed her floor routine.

Reaching New Heights

Lee shined during her uneven bars routine.

Winning Smile

Biles reacts after finishing her routine on the uneven bars.

Milestone Celebration

Chiles and Biles enjoyed a sweet moment together during the competition.

Medal-Worthy

Biles soared during the vault competition.

Let's Go! 

Chiles had the best reaction after finishing her routine on the uneven bars.

Jade's Return

After falling during her floor routine at qualifiers, Carey returned to the arena for the team finals, where she dominated the vault competition. 

Olympic Routine

Lee delivered a jaw-dropping floor routine for Team USA.

Mid-Air Moment

It was another strong performance from Biles on the uneven bars.

Moving Moment

After completing her incredible floor routine, Chiles broke down in tears.

Balancing Act

Biles hit the balance beam in style.

Quick Recovery

Jordan Chiles fell while competing on the balance beam, but battled back to finish her routine.

No. 1 Fans

The Olympian's husband Jonathan Owens, who took a break from NFL training camp to fly to Paris, and mom Nellie Biles cheered her on in the crowd.