Right-Wing Activist Levels New Attack On Simone Biles — And It’s An ‘Unnecessary Jab’

Right-wing activist Riley Gaines has leveled a new attack on Simone Biles — and it was quite the “unnecessary jab,” one expert who specializes in trauma and coping skills said.

On Sunday, Gaines retweeted a screenshot of Biles’ personal account on X, formerly Twitter, that showed it was no longer active. The former collegiate swimmer jumped on the new development to mock Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, and suggest that she must’ve deactivated her account due to their online dispute earlier this month.

Gaines wrote that Biles had an “incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take,” and got “rightfully ridiculed for it.” She then boasted that Biles had apologized after receiving “unrelenting backlash” and claimed that the gold medal winner shut down her X account “to pretend it never happened.”

“Sad to see such a phenom go down like this,” Gaines wrote in the post.

Biles’ other social media accounts remain active, and she has not released a public statement about why her X account appears to have been deactivated as of Monday. The gymnast’s representatives did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.

Gaines and Biles previously engaged in a back-and-forth on X after Biles criticized the right-wing activist for publicly bullying a teenage softball player who is transgender. The gymnastics star told Gaines at the time that she should instead be “uplifting the trans community” and trying to make sports more inclusive.

“Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male,” Biles wrote in another post.

Gaines, for her part, referenced the gymnast’s sexual abuse case against disgraced sports doctor and convicted sex offender Larry Nassar.

“All the horrific sexual abuse [Biles] witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings,” Gaines wrote. “You know how many gold medals you’d have if your ‘inclusive’ dream came true? Zero.”

Biles has since apologized for getting personal in her online clash with Gaines, who has not issued a public apology.

The Olympian has since received a wave of right-wing attacks on social media and from prominent conservative pundits. Fox News host Jesse Watters shared his two cents about the dispute and called Biles “mentally weak” in a segment on “The Five” — a dig referencing her publicly discussing challenges she’s had with her mental and physical well-being.

And Gaines has not let up much, either. On June 14, she took a jab at Biles while announcing at an event hosted by conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA that she and husband Louis Barker are expecting a child.

“[Biles] saying, ‘Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a man’ … How many men do you know that have this?” Gaines told the crowd while cradling her stomach and holding up a series of sonogram images.

Monica Cwynar, a licensed clinical social worker with Thriveworks who specializes in trauma and coping skills, said that Gaines’ latest attack about Biles possibly shuttering her X account appeared to be an “unnecessary jab” at Biles in a “vulnerable moment.”

“It feels like piling on when one person is already down. What does Gaines want from stating this, beyond trying to bring more negative attention to Biles?” she told HuffPost.

And while Biles has not released a statement on why her X account is not currently active, Cwynar said that given Biles’ past struggles with mental health, Gaines’ behavior “could indeed exacerbate the situation, potentially causing further harm to Biles’ mental well-being.”

“Gaines and Biles both got personal in their recent public dispute online, but Biles apologized and Gaines did not,” Cwynar said. “Responses to apologies such as Gaines’ latest tweet about Biles deactivating her account set a bad example and could discourage people from apologizing when it makes sense to in their own lives.”

Cwynar emphasized that apologizing “requires courage,” and that when people are met with continued attacks after issuing an apology, it “sends a message that vulnerability is met with contempt.”

This could cause people to think twice about owning up to their mistakes or about expressing regret, she said.

“It also shows that Ms. Biles was reflective and able to reflect on her comments while Gaines wants to continue the fight,” Cwynar said, adding that Gaines’ actions show she hasn’t come to terms with why leveling personal attacks that hit “below the belt” is not productive.

It’s important to keep in mind that online bullying can “have devastating effects on anyone, regardless of their public status,” Cwynar later noted.

“It can lead to anxiety, depression and a profound sense of isolation. For someone like Biles, who is under a spotlight, those effects may be magnified,” she said.

Generally speaking, Cwynar said that deactivating social media accounts can be a “healthy way to manage one’s mental health” after facing any kind of online harassment.

“Taking a break from the negativity allows individuals to regroup, reflect and heal without the constant influx of harmful messages,” she said. “It’s a proactive step in prioritizing mental well-being and can provide much-needed space to regain control over one’s emotional state.”

Cwynar noted that while social media may offer a lot of positive benefits, research has suggested that it can have a “detrimental impact on self-confidence and self-esteem.”

“We need to be kind to one another and be open to differing opinions, but not resort to insults,” she said. “Gaines is entitled to her voice as well, but taunting an individual is not necessary.”