Simone Biles, the seven-time Olympic medalist, is urging 2024 Paris Olympics viewers to refrain from commenting on her hair. On Tuesday, July 30, Biles shared two Instagram Stories showing her and other Olympians enduring a 45-minute bus ride amidst a severe heatwave in Paris. In the video, Biles, 27, uses a handheld fan to stay cool as temperatures soar to 95 degrees in the City of Light.
“Don’t come for me about my hair,” Biles captioned the video, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. “IT WAS DONE but the bus has NO AC & it’s like 9,000 degrees” told HuffPost.
She followed up with a photo of herself smiling with her eyes closed, wearing a black tank top, and reminded viewers that commenting on someone’s hair is never appropriate, regardless of the circumstances. “Gonna hold your hand when I say this,” she wrote, “next time you want to comment on a Black girl’s hair, JUST DON’T.”
As the most awarded gymnast in history with 37 medals across the Olympics and other competitions, Biles has often been subjected to unsolicited comments about her hair. In an interview with Elle published on July 17, she discussed her journey toward embracing her natural hair.
“I used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional,” she shared. “But I’m not embarrassed about it anymore.”
She pointed out that most of the criticism comes from within her own community, which she finds unfortunate. “I don’t really care if my edges aren’t smooth,” she added.
For Biles, gaining control over her haircare routine has significantly boosted her confidence. She credits beauty tutorials from Black content creators, which provide valuable advice on products and styles, for helping her and others better manage their hair.
“We’ve been able to take care of our hair better and take care of our beauty routines better because it’s self-taught,” she explained. “It’s really special that we have access to those platforms.”
Despite a minor calf injury during warmups on Sunday, July 28, Biles continues to make history at the Olympics. She qualified for the individual event finals in balance beam, floor, and vault, and will also compete in the Olympic all-around competition after scoring an impressive 59.566 in qualifiers.
If one more person asks why Simone Biles’ hair is messy… she is quite literally flying and flipping in the damn air
— ©️ (@ChristheLioness) July 29, 2024