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Helpless Simone Biles Was Restricted to Crying After Jonathan Owens’ Viral Interview: “Can’t Clap Back”

Published 04/18/2024, 2:26 PM EDT

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Simone Biles found herself unexpectedly thrust into the eye of a social media storm when her husband, Jonathan Owens, made some candid remarks during an episode of the “Pivot” podcast last year. The 28-year-old NFL safety ignited a firestorm by stating, “I always say that the men are the catch,” followed by the admission, “I didn’t know who she was at the time,” regarding Biles. These seemingly innocuous words plunged the NFL athlete into a whirlwind of scrutiny from Simone Biles’ fans online. Despite her reputation for addressing controversies head-on, Simone Biles notably remained silent amidst the whirlwind surrounding her relationship with Jonathan Owens.
aboutWhile Owens posted an image of their first dance on Instagram with the caption “Unbothered 😂❤️” that seemed to brush off the drama, Biles chose to express her feelings indirectly with a tweet featuring a picture of a confused child, writing, “Are y’all done yet?” signaling her exasperation with the situation. Despite these responses, even Biles’ social media activity exhibited unusual behavior as she remained steadfastly by Jonathan’s side. The comment section of Simone’s posts had been restricted, allowing only close friends and followers to leave comments on her pictures. Now, months after the drama, Simone Biles finally shared her perspective on the situation, revealing that she felt helpless and unable to “clap back.” 

Why did Simone Biles choose silence regarding Jonathan Owens’ situation?

The Olympic gymnast Simone Biles recently shared her initial reaction to the uproar in a candid conversation on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast with Alex Cooper. “So I thought it was hilarious at first, and then they hurt my feelings,” she confessed. The internet was ablaze with “divorce” chants, a cacophony of speculation and judgment that initially struck Biles as comical. Yet, as the waves of criticism continued to crash upon her shores, the laughter faded, replaced by a sense of helplessness. “One night I broke down,” Biles revealed, “and I’m like, why are you guys talking about my husband like this? Yeah. Like you don’t know him.”

She even admitted to shedding tears over the onslaught of negativity. “I’ve been in the limelight long enough where I can brush things off, have my little powwow about it,” she explained. “You’re not gonna know. I cried about it, but I’d be crying about some stuff, you know?” But beneath the tears lay a simmering frustration and a sense of powerlessness in the face of relentless online criticism. “But I’m also, I only cry about it because I can’t clap back. Just know that,” she asserted, a reminder that behind the public persona lies a woman grappling with the complexities of fame and public scrutiny, knowing she would eviscerate fans if she clapped back.

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Written by:

Christaline Meyers

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Christaline Meyers is a senior Olympics writer at EssentiallySports who specializes in gymnastics and alpine skiing. Christaline is one of the acclaimed authorities in the coverage of 6x All-Around champion, Simone Biles. She has written extensively, covering every detail of Biles’s life stories as well as providing her perspective on Simone Biles’ Yurchenko Double Pike controversy.
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Edited by:

Himanshu Sridhar