Simone Biles Reveals How She's Embraced Her Hair After Suffering Harsh Criticism Online
Simone Biles isn't letting the haters dictate her style.
The Olympic champion, 27, recently opened up about the harsh criticism she's received online over the way she's worn her hair and why she's not allowing other people's opinions to affect the way she lives her life.
In a recent interview, Biles admitted she "used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional" but that she's "not embarrassed about it anymore."
"Most of the backlash we get is from our own community, which is unfortunate," she further explained. "I don’t really care if my edges aren’t smooth."
The gold medalist caught flack on social media for the way she wore her hair for her 2023 wedding to NFL safety Jonathan Owens. Luckily, her fans were there to defend her at every turn.
"There is no way there should be this much discourse around THEE SIMONE BILES natural hair being worn at her wedding," one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Simone Biles is one of THEE top gymnasts we've ever seen and y'all worried about her hair…..?!" another added.
"I think they also forget I live in HOUSTON TEXAS & I sweat those out!! soon as we stepped outside for pics but they can keep complaining idc idc idc," Biles replied to one of the messages.
With the negative comments behind her, the athlete has been focused on the Paris Olympics and taking advantage of everything opportunity that comes her way. "Life is not slowing down anymore," Biles explained in a recent interview.
"I could make sacrifices before, but now I’m at a point where some of these sacrifices, I can’t make anymore. Life is moving on, with or without me," she added.
"Gymnastics was everything to me. And it still is, but I just have a different outlook on it," Biles continued. “Gymnastics is something that I do, but this is who I am outside of the sport. Rather than making it a whole blob.”
While maintaining the balance in her life, the pro knows how lucky she is to be in the position that she's in. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to compete again, because there was multiple times this year, where I was in the gym and I was like, I’m actually terrified of this full in,” she said in a 2023 interview. “Like, I’m not doing it again, never going to do it, and then I was like, you know what, I’m just going to come back another day, another day."
Elle conducted the interview with Biles about her hair.
USA Today conducted the interview about the Olympics.