CELEBRITY

Celebrities Show Simone Biles Tremendous Support With Beautiful Messages

Simone Biles took a brave step this week and decided to pull out from the Olympics due to her mental health, and many celebrities used their platform to show love and support to the athlete.
A. Ricardo / Shutterstock

Simone Biles took a brave step this week and decided to pull out from the Olympics due to her mental health, and many celebrities used their platform to show love and support to the athlete.

Simone Biles took a brave step this week and decided to pull out from the Olympics due to her mental health, and many celebrities used their platform to show love and support to the athlete.
A. Ricardo / Shutterstock

There’s been a massive outpour of love and support from celebrities and fans since Simone Biles decided to take a step back to take care of her mental health and withdrew from the Olympics. So, many artists shared messages supporting the athlete. 

Biles shared on her Instagram stories explaining her decision to pull out from the Olympics. The athlete affirms this is a momentous thing. Also, she will be back better than ever in no time. In the series of stories, she answered some questions about what she is going through. And explained her recent experience with the “twisties,” a term that gymnasts use for losing awareness in midair. Following the stories, she shared a couple of videos of her training to show her perseverance.

Figure skater Adam Rippon, a former Olympic athlete, said he could relate. He shared a powerful message relating to Biles’s situation.

“As hard as it was to believe, it’s really not that hard to understand. And it was without question, the right thing to do,” said Rippon. “The extra scrutiny that female athletes face and specifically Black female athletes face is unfathomable and unfair.” Ripon added that the industry is “applauding people who ignore limits.”

Rippon posted a full version of his message on Instagram on Thursday.

“Imagine for one moment that every event you compete in, every move you make, the way you wear your hair, every word that comes out of your mouth is met with immediate feedback from anyone who might want to say anything,” The figure skater continued in his message. “It sounds completely draining and mentally exhausting. Now imagine that, well, under that kind of scrutiny, your body starts to fail you in one of the biggest moments of your career.”

In addition, Justin Bieber shared a beautiful message on Instagram supporting Biles’ decision. Bieber is always speaking up about the importance of mental health on his platform and sharing his own experience.

The singer wrote, “Nobody will ever understand the pressures you face! I know we don’t know each other, but I’m so proud of the decision to withdraw. It’s as simple as: What does it mean to gain the whole world but forfeit your soul?”

Later, he added, “People thought I was crazy for not finishing the Purpose tour, but it was the best thing I could have done for my mental health. So proud of you, Simone.” 

These two examples are the tip of the iceberg of those who have shared messages supporting Simone Biles. Many others, including gymnasts, have shared emotional messages. Like, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Uzo Aduba, Amanda Gorman, Michelle Obama, Sarah Hirshland, and others.

Also, former Team USA gymnast Aly Raisman even spoke about the media pressure that has been placed on Simone for the past few months leading up to the games. “I think sometimes people forget, Simone is human,” she said. “She has pains like all of us. She has stress like all of us. And Simone has more pressure than anything other gymnast I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. It’s insane how much pressure is on her.”

After Biles pulled out of Olympics, she emphasized the importance of taking care of their mental health.  “We also have to focus on ourselves because, at the end of the day, we’re human, too,” said the gymnast in an interview.

Simone Biles took a brave step this week and decided to pull out from the Olympics due to her mental health, and many celebrities used their platform to show love and support to the athlete.
A. Ricardo / Shutterstock

The gymnast divulged to TODAY that, “Physically, I feel good. Emotionally, that kind of varies on the time and moment. Coming here to the Olympics and being the head star isn’t an easy feat, so we’re just trying to take it one day at a time, and we’ll see.”

After focusing on her mental health, Biles decided to compete on the balance beam and won bronze.