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Gabby Douglas is not “jealous” of her Olympics gymnastics teammates, despite a mean-spirited report wrongly calling out the gold medalist. Gossip Cop can clear up what’s going on.
A Friday headline from RadarOnline reads, “GOLDEN GIRL NO MORE! Gabby Douglas SLAMMED For Bad Attitude At Olympics — Is She Jealous Of Her Teammates?” According to the accompanying story, the athlete has “fallen from gymnastics grace” and her time in Rio has been “plagued with controversy.” As proof, though, the webloid doesn’t cite any sources.
Instead, it relies on judgmental comments from Twitter, such as tweets saying, “Gabby Douglas was salty last night. Not a good look…” and “What is up with Gabby Douglas’ attitude at the Olympics?” The site goes on to say, “Fans even accused Douglas of being jealous of Simone Biles, who won gold in women’s individual all-around, and team captain Aly Raisman, who took home silver in the same competition.”
The article further notes that at one event, “Douglas did not place her hand over her heart during the national anthem like her teammates did,” and says she’s also been “bashed for her messy hair.” What does any of this have to do with being “jealous”? It doesn’t.
RadarOnline simply manufactured a story by stringing together various moments from the games, and then sensationalizing them to seem like a bigger deal than they actually are. Douglas has nothing to be “jealous” of, considering the gold she won at the 2012 Olympics, and the team gold she took home this time around.
To assume she’s “jealous” based on facial expressions is beyond ridiculous, just as it’s ridiculous to comment on her hair, and make “controversy” out of Douglas choosing to stand at attention rather than with her hand on her heart. Because Douglas isn’t living up to Twitter users’ expectations of how someone should act doesn’t make her “jealous.”
And far from being “jealous,” Douglas was nothing but gracious and supportive during a live interview on Friday’s “Today” show. As seen in the video below, she praises, “I told them that they did an amazing job and they deserved it. And they work so hard in the gym, they’re just such hard workers, and I’m so happy for them.”
“I’m so happy for you guys,” Douglas said to Biles and Raisman, adding, “I love them so much, and it was a phenomenal competition to watch.” That’s not a “bad attitude” — it’s a sweet one.
