Last week, Simone Biles was receiving her less than stellar critiques from Dancing With the Stars judges when the usually cheerful gymnast, who often wears a grin of excitement, was asked by host Tom Bergeron why she wasn’t smiling. Her response, “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals,” would elicit a pretty big response from people on social media.
It was something Biles admits that she and her mother were nervous about.
“To be honest, I didn’t know what to say and that’s just what came out of my mouth,” Biles wrote on her PEOPLE blog early on Monday. “It was kind of like word vomit.”
Thankfully though, she received more support and applause over her clapback than she expected.
“My mom was a little worried that my comment was going to be taken negatively, but the positive outcome has been absolutely amazing,” she said. “It went everywhere. I never thought that would happen. It’s just nuts. But it’s proof of the power of words and I’m humbled, really, that people care what I have to say.”
But it wasn’t entirely enough to keep Biles on the show. Everyone was shocked on Monday evening when the gold medal-winning Olympian was sent home after landing in the bottom two with former Cubs catcher David Ross. He’s going to the finals and Biles, who nabbed two perfect scores for both of her dances last night, was sent home.
After seemingly not being able to please judges, even saying in practice footage that aired Monday, “I just feel like I can’t do anymore because I feel like I’ve tried my hardest and it’s just not good enough,” the 20-year-old had zero tears to shed about having to say goodbye.
“I found out a lot about myself,” she said. “I think today I experienced what they wanted. It felt refreshing. I did feel free, so I cant ask anymore. We went out with a bang.”
Biles said she plans to relax following her DWTS elimination. She will soon train for the 2020 Olympics, but in the meantime, is ready to travel, hang with friends and just be the usual 20-year-old. Anything other than practicing the Paso Doble in dancing shoes every week and being told you’re not being authentic enough sounds like a good time to us. Good riddance.
Image via WENN
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