MyKayla Skinner, a former U.S. Olympic gymnast, is in the spotlight in June 2025 due to a new feud with Simone Biles, reigniting past tensions and drawing fresh accusations of racism and bullying.
This latest drama stems from Skinner’s public support for Riley Gaines, a conservative activist, and her claims that Biles “belittled, dismissed, and ostracized” her during their time as teammates.
On June 13, 2025, Skinner released a statement through One America News Network, defending Riley Gaines after Simone Biles criticized Gaines for her anti-trans remarks about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Biles had called Gaines a “sore loser” and “bully,” later apologizing for getting personal but standing by her belief in competitive equity and inclusivity.
Skinner’s statement praised Gaines for “standing for fairness” and accused Biles of bullying her behind the scenes during their 2020 Tokyo Olympics tenure. She claimed she faced “immense pressure to stay silent,” however, she provided no specific examples of Biles’s alleged behavior.
This statement reignited their ongoing feud, which began with Skinner’s 2016 racially insensitive retweet about Gabby Douglas and escalated in 2024 when Skinner criticized the 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team’s work ethic (excluding Biles) in a deleted YouTube video.
Likewise, her 2024 comments, which included body-shaming Suni Lee and mispronouncing Hezly Rivera’s name, were seen by some as racially charged microaggressions.
Mykala Skinner’s Past Actions And Remarks Continue To Spark Controversy And Fuel Tensions With Simone Biles!
Back in 2016, Mykala Skinner, then 19, was named an alternate for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team for the Rio Games.
After Gabby Douglas, the first Black Olympic all-around champion, made the team, Skinner retweeted a photoshopped image of her face over Douglas’s body, paired with emojis like a monkey and a blonde girl.
Following the retweet, many saw Skinner’s act as racially offensive.
She also retweeted negative posts about Douglas, increasing the backlash. Some social media users claimed Skinner used a racial slur in a deleted tweet, though this lacks clear evidence.
Skinner apologized, saying, “I’m so sorry if I offended anyone,” but many felt her apology was weak and prompted by pressure from her university. This incident has followed her, with critics on platforms labeling her actions as racist and insensitive.
In June 2024, during the U.S. Olympic trials, Skinner posted a now-deleted YouTube video commenting on the 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.
She said the team, excluding Simone Biles, lacked “talent and depth” and didn’t work as hard as past teams.
Skinner also remarked that Suni Lee, the 2021 Olympic all-around champion, didn’t have a “gymnastics body” and mispronounced Hezly Rivera’s name, which some viewed as microaggressions.
Additionally, Skinner criticized SafeSport, an organization created to prevent abuse in sports after the Larry Nassar scandal, suggesting it weakened coaching quality.
These comments drew criticism for being disrespectful to a diverse and accomplished team, including Biles, Lee, and others who are survivors of Nassar’s abuse.
After winning team gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone Biles posted an Instagram photo with the caption “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions,” seen as a direct response to Skinner’s remarks.
The post garnered support from gymnasts such as Suni Lee, McKayla Maroney, and Laurie Hernandez.
Skinner reportedly blocked Biles on social media, escalating tensions. Jordan Chiles, another Olympian, and Biles confirmed this on social media, which further fueled the controversy.
Later on August 7, 2024, Skinner posted an Instagram video asking Biles to stop her 11.8 million followers from “cyberbullying” her.
She claimed she received death threats and hateful messages targeting her and her family after Biles’s Instagram post.
Skinner said she apologized to team members via text before the Olympics, noting that Biles responded positively, saying she was proud of her.
In the video, Skinner expressed heartbreak if Biles truly believed she called the team lazy and untalented, insisting her comments were misunderstood. She urged Biles, a mental health advocate, to intervene, stating, “Enough is enough.”
In Case You Didn’t Know
- MyKayla Skinner is married to Jonas Harmer, and they tied the knot in 2019, just a month after getting engaged.
- The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Charlotte Jane Harmer, on September 21, 2023.
