Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs
MyKayla Skinner’s husband, Jonas Harmer, said he’s “proud” of her amid her social media drama with Simone Biles.
“Proud of you for apologizing when you did, staying quiet when you did, and now standing up for yourself. You’re the strongest person I know!” Harmer commented under Skinner’s Instagram apology video Tuesday.
Skinner’s clash with Biles began in June when the former criticized the Team USA women’s gymnastics team in a since-deleted YouTube video.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” she said. “The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Skinner was fiercely criticized by fans at the time, but the backlash was reignited when Biles, 27, seemingly shaded her after taking home the gold medal with her teammates in last week’s final.
“lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸,” 11-time Olympic medalist captioned a celebratory Instagram post.
Biles, who took home three gold medals and a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, later revealed that Skinner had blocked her.
Amid the social media drama, Skinner, 27, took to her Instagram Tuesday to beg Biles to ask fans to stop harassing her and her family over her previous comments.
“Things have really gotten out of hand lately and it’s one thing to disagree with me regarding something I have said or a point I was trying to make but it’s something else entirely when that turns into cyberbullying or even worse,” Skinner said at the beginning of her video.
“Watching people cheer on the bullying which has led to threats of physical harm to me my husband and our daughter is disgusting.”
The gymnast, who competed alongside Biles in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, welcomed her first baby with Harmer in September 2023.
She went on to admit the comments she made in her YouTube video were not well articulated and that the “last thing” she wanted was “to cause harm or offend our US Olympic Team.”
She claimed she sent handwritten apologies to everyone on the USA gymnastics team after posting her YouTube video, but only heard back from Biles, who allegedly replied saying she was “proud” of her.
“You guys can imagine my surprise last week when I was celebrating our team winning gold, just to see this all brought up all over again by a caption on an Instagram post,” Skinner continued in her Instagram video.
“If Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent and that’s how she really feels, I am really heartbroken over it.
“But not just heartbroken because it isn’t how I feel … but heartbroken because Simone’s latest post and others that followed it fueled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles and emails – hate that includes death threats to me, my family and even my agent.
“So, to Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop,” Skinner pleaded.
“You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness, and a lot of people need your help now. We’ve been hurt and attacked in ways that I am certain you never intended.”
Biles has not publicly responded to Skinner’s request. Her rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s original request for comment.
Skinner was met with mixed support on social media following her post, with some fans joining her husband in applauding her vulnerability, while others reminding her that the drama started with her comments.
