Olivia Dunne is a champion gymnast at Louisiana State University. She’s a TikTok social media sensation with millions of followers and those who will go to any extent to meet her.
The two spotlights collided on Jan. 6 at the University of Utah, when many of her social media followers flocked to the college gymnastics meet in the hopes of seeing her.
Samantha Peszek, an Olympic medalist turned broadcaster, recorded the moment as she left the field. “We want Livvy,” fans, usually teen boys, can be seen screaming and nearly frothing at the mouth.
Olivia Dunne is a champion gymnast at Louisiana State University. She’s a TikTok social media sensation with millions of followers and those who will go to any extent to meet her.
The two spotlights collided on Jan. 6 at the University of Utah, when many of her social media followers flocked to the college gymnastics meet in the hopes of seeing her.
Samantha Peszek, an Olympic medalist turned broadcaster, recorded the moment leaving the meet. “We want Livvy,” fans, usually teen boys, can be seen screaming and nearly frothing at the mouth.
“This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringe,” Peszek said on Twitter. “I’m embarrassed for them.” Kathy Johnson Clarke, another Olympic champion and ESPN reporter, was asked by a fan if she was Dunne’s mother.
“They were screaming to me, ‘Are you Livvy’s mom? Are you Livvy’s mom?’ Very disturbing. Creepy, actually,” Clarke said on Twitter. “To be clear, these are teenage boys, and this should be a teachable moment.
They were excited to see in person someone they follow on social media along with 4+ million other obsessed fans, but they had no idea how to comport themselves during the competition or after.” Other competing gymnasts told FOX13 that Dunne’s followers’ shouting and catcalling throughout the event was disturbing.
“It’s disappointing that those people kind of disrespect the athletes and that’s never nice to see,” Amelie Morgan, a sophomore gymnast at Utah, told FOX13. “She’s just like us, she’s another gymnast, another teammate. She’s doing exactly the same thing. She must love the support and she’s done amazing for herself, but when there are disrespectful comments it’s kind of a shame, especially when you’re working hard to perform for those fans.”
Fans were seen waving signs and cardboard cutouts of the TikTok star in other photos shared on Twitter. Dunne took to Twitter to criticize her fans’ behavior during and after the meet.
“I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job,” Dunne said on Twitter.