Sometimes the internet exhausts me. Well, more specifically, people on the internet. The latest instance involved Olympic gymnast Simone Biles after she shared photos on April 22 from her courthouse wedding. What should have been a day full of celebration, joy, and good wishes turned ugly quickly when certain Twitter users began to share their unnecessary thoughts about Biles’s wavy, high ponytail, which, according to them, looked unkempt.
Some users expressed their disappointment that Biles would dare show her textured edges while the rest of her hair was straightened. A few of the tweets that sparked the discourse have since been deleted, but the damage had already been done, as it started a larger conversation regarding texturism and Black hair. Biles even shared her own two cents.
On April 23, Twitter user Cindy Noir tweeted, “Simone Biles is one of THEE top gymnasts we’ve ever seen, has overcome situations of abuse and other obstacles in her childhood, has defined her own success and found love and is now happily married… And y’all worried about her hair…..?!” They paired the tweet with a video of Nene Leakes looking bewildered, which is exactly how I felt.
Biles responded to the tweet, “I think they also forget i live in HOUSTON TEXAS & I sweat those out!! soon as we stepped outside for pics but they can keep complaining idc idc idc.” That was, thankfully, the only statement Biles made about the incident, seeing as she shouldn’t have had to say anything, to begin with.
