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Simone Biles is quite literally the most decorated gymnast in history, credited with winning 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. Over the years, with her exceptional skills and unparalleled talent, the 27-year-old American gymnast has earned the reputation of being globally regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
Though she bailed out of the sport in the middle, withdrawing from the finals of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo for reasons cited as her experiencing the “twisties” and needing to focus on her mental health, her return after her two-year break was nothing short of spectacular. She made sure to bring home her third gold medal of the Games in the vault final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This brings to light the Netflix docuseriesSimone Biles Risingas well, which not only addressed her career highs and lows and the behind-the-scenes of it all – including how she was deemed a quitter and accused of abandoning her teammates during her break – but also delved a deeper dive into the personal life of Biles and her husband Jonathan Owens. To be more precise, it also talked about the controversy surrounding the “Mr. Simone Biles” title.
With this issue being brought into the light as well, Biles also defended her husband in part of the series, which was recently released on the streaming giant. That said, here’s all you need to know about this particular controversy after what we have learned about the duo from their Netflix docuseries.
What is the “Mr. Simone Biles” Controversy All About?
This controversy goes back to 2023, when Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens appeared onThe Pivot Podcastto talk about his career as well as his personal life as he shared deets into the couple’s early days. During this, the professional football safety for the Chicago Bears of the NFL made some controversial comments that came back to bite him later on.
According to his claims, in the early days of his relationship with Biles, Owens was“the catch”rather than the other way around, seemingly implying that he was out of Biles’ league and not the other way around.
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If that wasn’t enough, the 29-year-old even insisted that he had no clue who the world-class gymnast was when the pair first met – something fans found hard to digest.
Of course, considering how Simone Biles had already acquired her fame as one of the greatest gymnasts in history in 2020 when the pair first met, this seems pretty impossible that Owens hadn’t even so much as heard about his now-wife. That said, fans really took these comments to heart, finding them dishonest at best and stinging at worst, irrespective of Owens’ intentions.
Notably enough, Owens also emphasized that the fact that he hadn’t heard about her was what had Biles actually appreciating him. Looking at it from this perspective, it sounds like Biles liked that Owens could separate her legacy and celebrity from the person she was in reality, and hints that Owens’ words may not have been made to hurt or diminish Biles’ accomplishments.
However, fans had already caught hold of the fire, and these statements spread over the internet like wildfire as fans had Owens diving deeper into controversy over the comments he made about his wife. To say the least, this controversial turn of events even had the nickname “Mr. Simone Biles” coming to life, with massive social media backlash ensuing.
Jonathan Owens Received Intense Social Media Backlash Over This
Since this debacle made it all sound like Jonathan Owens was a much greater celebrity than his now-wife, with his claims even making it seem like he may as well be trying to diminish what Biles has accomplished, fans didn’t go easy on the NFL player. If anything, this was the very event that built up to the creation of the rhetorical nickname “Mr. Simone Biles” (seeX).
As the nickname goes, it was meant to suggest that the 29-year-old Owens’ identity was overshadowed by the 27-year-old Olympian’s because she was more famous than him. Additionally, this nickname had some controversial accusations tied to it, including that Owens may have made these comments out of jealousy of the iconic status Biles holds.
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If that wasn’t enough, the backlash further went on to even surround the debate of who is a better athlete between the two, since Biles is an Olympic gymnast while Owens is an NFL player. The veryBiles, who found herself enrolling in an optional training program in gymnastics at age 6 during a day-care field trip at the suggestion of the instructors before she began training properly with a coach aged 8 (seeAAA,Buzzfeed, andTime).
That said, as disrespecting as it all was for both Biles and Owens, the Olympian really took a stand for her husband and made it clear on more than one occasion that she was actually tired of hearing about this controversy surrounding her man.
Simone Biles, in the Meanwhile, is Tired of Hearing About This Controversy
Ever since Jonathan Owens’ comments caused tremendous fan uproar and led to his unparalleled ridicule, Simone Biles has made it evident one too many times that she is not okay with the mockery surrounding her husband. On theCall Her Daddypodcast, she revealed how “really hurt” she was over the hate the former Green Bay Packers player was receiving.
“I thought everything was okay, and then I go on Twitter and everybody’s like, ‘Divorce this man. He’s mean!’” Biles said while coming candidly clean on the podcast earlier this year. “I’m like, ‘He’s the sweetest. He praises the ground that I walk on.’ Truly, I’ve never met a man like him … He truly goes out of his way to do anything for me.”
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Addressing the controversy surrounding Owens being the catch, she clarified that her man “never said [she] wasn’t a catch,” adding, “I thought it was hilarious at first and then it hurt my feelings. One night I broke down and I’m like, ‘Why are you guys talking about my husband like this? You don’t know him’ … That really hurt. For me, it’s like, talk about me all you want, but don’t come for my family, never.”
While that was that, she further expressed her disapproval of the fan backlash around a month later through her Instagram stories, writing (viaThe Cut), “I’m going to quickly address this, the joke was never a joke! Y’all are blatantly being disrespectful to my relationship & my husband. So I’m gonna go ahead and say this one time. Respectfully, f–k off & if you keep commenting or tweeting at me I’m just going to block you. Simple as that.”
Simone Biles RisingPart 2 is Out, and Simone Biles is Defending Her Husband
While the first part ofSimone Biles Risingturned out to garner massive acclaim and attention, the recently released second part is continuing the game perfectly. In this exclusive part, not only does Biles address her two-year break from the sport, but she also makes it clear once again that she is “gonna come at” anyone who talks about her husband or family.
Talking about Owens, she says he has been “a shoulder to lean on because he saw those dark times after Tokyo,” when she was struggling to stay in her game and withdrew from the finals of the 2021 Olympics. To say the least, he proved to be her ultimate comfort during her hard times, not only taking care of her but also ensuring she had all the motivation she needed.
He’s like, ‘You’ll get back to where you were,’ and made sure I was staying on top of my training. He was making sure I was going to my therapy sessions and trying to do as much as he could without kind of being bossy.
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Expressing frustration over all the fan backlash her husband received along with the unduly comparison, Biles also warns,“I know we signed up to be judged in the gym, but when you guys are gonna talk about him or my family … yeah, I’m gonna come at you guys. Most of the time, I bite my tongue. Now I’m like, ‘Yeah, I have a voice, I’ve always had a voice. Just because you didn’t think I would see it doesn’t mean I’m not obligated to respond.’”
With all of this being said, it’s time all those fans finally took the hint and backed off from all the ridiculing stuff they still have in store for Jonathan Owens — unless they really want Simone Biles to come after them!
Simone Biles Rising is currently available to be streamed on Netflix.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
