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Decorated Olympian Gabby Douglas revealed she felt bullied while competing on the world’s highest stage.
Earlier this month, a TikTok user posted a video suggesting fans “dropped” Douglas, 28, after Simone Biles began to get more popular amongst gymnastics fans.
“Gabby Douglas used to be the greatest Olympic gymnast and then here comes Simone Biles,” the user said in the clip. “No one cares about Gabby Douglas anymore. When was the last time you thought about Gabby Douglas? I think about her all the time!”
The video caught the attention of Douglas.
“That’s ok! Constantly being bullied is very tiring and wearing on me,” Douglas replied on Tuesday, August 6. “I just want to live my life and be at peace.”
Douglas added that she appreciated the support writing, “Thanks for the love! Definitely needed in this world.”
During the 2012 London Olympics, Douglas made history as the first Black gymnast to win gold in the individual all-around. She returned for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. She’s won a total of three gold medals.
Douglas took a step back from competing when she did not participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“I wanted to take a step back and work on myself and work on my mental state,” Douglas said of her hiatus in a February interview with Hallie Jackson NOW. “I love gymnastics and I love pushing myself every single day. I love this sport so I never wanted to walk away on a bad day.”
Despite her reprieve, Douglas was hopeful to make it to the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she hurt her ankle ahead of the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
“It was very difficult only because you want to keep pushing through, but then at the same time, my body was like, ‘Oh, maybe we need to stop,’” Douglas exclusively told Us Weekly in July. “It was kind of that, ‘Oh, should we push it? … Push it to the brink and make it a little worse? … Or do I take a break and rest and then kind of move on from that?’ It was a very hard decision.”
While Douglas wasn’t present in Paris, she was there in spirit for Biles. During the medal ceremony for the individual floor event, Biles, 27, and Jordan Chiles bowed down to Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade who took home the gold medal. It marked the first time there was an all-Black podium for the sport.
“[We did that] for all the little girls and boys that look like us, for them to believe in themselves that they can do it too,” Biles said to People on Tuesday. “I was one day in their shoes when I saw Gabby win and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, if she can do it, I can do it.’”
While Douglas didn’t make it to the Olympics this year, she’s not counting herself out for 2028.
“I do have [the Summer 2028 Olympics] in the back of my mind,” she told Us. “And even before that, there are a lot of world championships that I want to go to [and] more competitions internationally.”
