AceShowbiz - The triumph of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics was supposed to be a moment of national pride and celebration. However, it has been overshadowed by a feud between two elite gymnasts: Simone Biles and former teammate MyKayla Skinner. Skinner has issued a public plea to Biles, urging her to help stop the cyberbullying and threats she and her family have been receiving over the past week.

It all started when Biles posted a sarcastic Instagram caption celebrating Team USA's victory, which read, "Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions." This was a nod to Skinner's previous comments in a YouTube video, in which she said that the team, barring Biles, lacked talent and work ethic. As a result, Skinner has faced a barrage of online hate and threats.

"I love our country and don't want to take anything away from our athletes," Skinner wrote in an Instagram video caption. "Let's use this time to build each other up, not tear others down [love] 🇺🇸."

In her heartfelt video, Skinner elaborated on the situation, "I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn't need to be revisited, but unfortunately, things have really gotten out of hand lately. Watching people cheer on the bullying - which has led to threats of physical harm to me, my husband, and our daughter - is disgusting. So please at this point, I'm just asking for it to stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough."

The retired gymnast then addressed the contentious comments she made, explaining that she never intended to offend Team USA's gymnasts. She has apologized multiple times and believed she had made amends, even receiving a positive response from Biles in the past. However, Biles' recent post reignited the controversy, leading to another wave of hateful messages.

"If Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent and if that's really how she feels, I am really heartbroken over it," Skinner said. "But not just heartbroken because it isn't what I feel or even how I previously said, but because Simone's latest post and others that followed it fueled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles, and emails."

Skinner concluded her plea by directly addressing Biles, "Please ask your followers to stop. You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness and a lot of people need your help now. We've been attacked in ways that I'm certain you never intended. Your performance, the team's performance, and the Olympics in general should be a time that we support one another."

As of now, Biles has not publicly responded to Skinner's request. The situation continues to draw attention, highlighting the dark side of social media fandom and the power of public figures to influence behavior.