MyKayla Skinner is apologizing following comments she made in a since-deleted YouTube video in which she seemingly shaded Simone Biles’ Olympic teammates.
The 27-year-old gymnast took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday and said her comments were “misinterpreted” and she never intended to hurt anyone. The 2020 Olympics vault silver medalist added she’s “seriously so happy” for the women’s gymnastics team heading to Paris this month to represent Team USA.
Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles and 16-year-old Junior World silver medalist Hezly Rivera were selected last weekend following Sunday’s U.S. Olympic Trials, which became the most-watched Olympic trials since 2016 with 7.6 million viewers across NBC and peaking at 8.2 million. Following their selection, Skinner posted a YouTube video recapping the trials and questioned everyone but Biles’ work ethic, among other things.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” she said in the since-deleted YouTube video but captured and shared on social media. “I just notice, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Biles seemingly responded to the comments, sharing on Instagram Threads, “not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” Chiles’ mother, Gina, also tweeted, “Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something.”
Skinner, who has not competed since the 2020 Olympics, sought to clarify her comments in a since-expired Instagram Story, but captured by People.
“Hey, guys, just wanted to pop on here really quick, because I know we did the recap on YouTube, and I feel like a lot of you guys had misinterpreted or misunderstood exactly what I was meaning or had said,” she said.
She claimed that “a lot of the stuff” she spoke about in her YouTube video “wasn’t always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them.”
She added, “So anyway, sorry for anything that got out of context or seemed hurtful. That is never my intention. And seriously, throughout the video, I was so pumped for the girls, and it was fun watching trials and doing a live with everybody.”
Skinner also apologized if how she conveyed her message “came out wrong” and that “that was not my intention at all.”
Team USA’s women’s gymnastics begins competing July 28 in the qualifying round. With her qualification, 27-year-old Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, becomes the oldest female American gymnast to go to the Olympic Games.
