Simone Biles had a message for critics ahead of her first medal competition at the Paris Olympics: Don’t even think about commenting on her hair.
“Don’t come for me about my hair,” the seven-time Olympic medalist said in an Instagram story on Tuesday. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh & a 45 minutes ride.”
The gymnast was cooling herself with a handheld fan in the video behind the text, apparently on a bus without air conditioning en route to the event.
Paris is in the midst of a heat wave, with temperatures in the city climbing to more than 95 degrees on Tuesday.
In the next story, Biles swiped at those who have criticized her hair in the past.
“Gonna hold your hand when I say this,” she wrote. “Next time you wanna comment on a Black girls hair. JUST DON’T.”
LIONEL BONAVENTURE via Getty Images
In her Netflix documentary, “Simone Biles Rising,” Biles addressed how negativity and pressure from social media commenters had affected her mental health. She also mentioned how people had made nasty judgments about her hair, including one remark that it looked “crunchy.”
“People are way too comfortable commenting things,” she said in the docuseries.
“I think the beauty standard, everything, is just too much,” she added, ostensibly referencing the sport’s traditionally eurocentric beauty standards.
Biles, widely considered to be the greatest gymnast in history, is competing in Tuesday’s team final along with teammates Jade Carey, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles. She will compete in all four events: vault, beam, uneven bars and floor.
She topped her group in the all-around qualifying on Sunday, marking a successful start to her Olympic return after dropping out of the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health.
