TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — On Tuesday, Simone Biles found herself in a position she’s been in more than a few times: holding a new Olympic gold medal, a champion once again.
Biles, now the most decorated Olympic gymnast of all time, led Team USA to a dominant win in the women’s gymnastics final. Then she took to social media to share a photo of her teammates while taking a shot at a former one.
“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” Biles wrote on Instagram, seemingly taking shots at Olympic medal-winning gymnast MyKayla Skinner, who competed on the U.S. gymnastics team with Biles in 2020.
Skinner, who won silver on vault at the Tokyo Olympics, had criticized the 2024 team, saying in a since-deleted YouTube video that aside from Biles, their “talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be.”
“Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard,” Skinner claimed. “The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Following Biles’ remarks on Instagram, Team USA gymnast Suni Lee commented on the post, writing, “put a finger down if Simone Biles just ended you.” (Lee’s comment no longer appeared on the post as of Thursday morning, though screengrabs have been shared on social media.)
Other former Olympians chimed in, including gymnast McKayla Maroney, who said, “It doesn’t get more iconic than this,” and added that she felt the need “to apologize just to redeem my first name.” Decorated figure skater Michelle Kwan also offered a “four letter word for all the haters – G.O.A.T.”
Biles also took to X (formerly Twitter) to suggest she had been blocked by Skinner following Tuesday’s Instagram post. Fellow Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles, in an Instagram Story, also shared a photo that appeared to indicate Skinner had blocked Biles.
“Oop I’ve been blocked,” Biles wrote Wednesday.
Skinner, meanwhile, had previously apologized for her past remarks about the 2024 team. On July 6, Skinner had written, in part, that it was not her intention “to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work. Your hard work and dedication has paid off, and I congratulate each and every one of you.”
“I wish you all the very best in Paris,” she added. “I will be cheering you all on! Go Team USA!”