Simone Biles has been the star of the Paris 2024 Olympics, having added four medals to her stash to become the most decorated gymnast in history.
But while she’s shown undeniable skill in the arena, she’s found that some people haven’t been concentrating on her sporting prowess – choosing, instead, to focus on her appearance.
Gymnasts often wear their hair in styles that ensure it stays out of their faces to focus on performing – after all, you wouldn’t want any long locks of hair to get wrapped around the beam as you try to dismount... Ouch.
Simone Biles gets trolled for her hair
Like many of her peers, Biles often ties her hair up into a bun or ponytail.
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But while she was busy winning gold medals, social media was filled with cruel comments about how she’d styled it, with one person saying it looked as though she had 'just rolled out of bed', and another calling her hairstyle 'sloppy'.
The perfect response
Biles later shared a snap on social media which showed her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
The iconic Instagram Story caption was sure to stop critics in their tracks, as she wrote: "Don’t come for me about my hair.
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"IT WAS DONE but bus has no AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh and a 45-minute ride.”
The next image she shared showed her fanning her face due to the heat, to which Biles wrote: “Gonna hold your hand when I say this.
"Next time you wanna comment on a Black girl’s hair. JUST DON’T.”
A wider problem
The treatment of Biles is something that's sadly widespread in the sporting world - with non-competitors believing they have the right to cast judgement or bestow further challenges on Black women due to their hair, while their white counterparts don't face the same treatment, or face accusations of having 'unprofessional' hair.
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American gymnast Gabby Douglas, who was just 16 years old when she made her Olympics debut in 2012 and won gold, was on the receiving end of insulting comments about her hair.
Social media jibes suggested her hair was 'unprofessional' and 'embarrassing', while another implied Gabby didn't belong on camera.
Her mother was forced to step in and defend her, saying: "I was looking at the pictures and I was like, 'I'm missing it,' because I don't see what they're talking about.
"I mean, she doesn't have fly-aways all sticking out, it's not like it's all over her head. It's pulled back into a ponytail."
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Biles has also previously opened up about her hair journey when it comes to gymnastics and expectations.
In a recent interview with Elle, the gymnast credited social media with giving her inspiration, saying: "We’ve [Black women] been able to take care of our hair better and take care of our beauty routines better, because it’s self-taught. It’s really special that we have access to those platforms.”
She continued: “I used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional. But I’m not embarrassed about it anymore.”
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Following the criticism Biles received online, many loyal fans leapt to her defence.
One person wrote: "Imagine being the kind of person who watches Simone Biles perform moves that no one else can do, twirl in the air multiple times and land on her two feet… only to comment on her hair! Imagine having that mentality?”
Another said: "Simone Biles is out here making history and people are worried about her hair. We really are cooked as a people.”
A third added: "I hateeeee people especially women who comment on Simone Biles hair. Cause yall not out there doing damn flips and winning medals. It’s so wild to me."
Topics: Simone Biles, Olympics, Hair, Social Media
Jess Hardiman