A popular college gymnast has been prompted to speak out after witnessing disturbing footage of her male fans after a recent meet. Olivia Dunne signed with talent agent WME Sports and became a millionaire at the age of 18, but the young gymnast, now 20, wasn’t impressed with the leaked footage of the group “saying rude things and swearing” as they waited for her to appear.
The incident took place at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday, January 6, in Salt Lake City, Utah. After the LSU Tigers gymnast was competing, a large group of male fans stood behind barriers outside hoping to catch a glimpse of Olivia Dunne in person. Little did they know, Dunne wasn’t even there.
Commentator and former Olympic gymnast Samantha Peszek shared footage of the “scary and disturbing” scenes on TikTok, showing the young men shouting lewd things and exhibiting behavior most women would find scary.
@sampeszek This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them. 😬 #livvy #ncaagymnastics #stop Leave her alone.
“I was walking out just behind you, Sam, and they were screaming to me ‘are you Livvy’s mom? Are you Livvy’s mom?’ Very disturbing. Creepy, actually,” added ESPN commentator Kathy Johnson Clarke.
The mother of Utah junior gym athlete Jillian Hoffman also voiced her displeasure with the men’s behavior, writing on Facebook: “I am a mother of a Utah gymnast, as we were walking to the car the group swarmed my daughter and her teammate. They literally said to their faces, ‘You are not Livvy but you will do, can we get a picture.’ [The group] also called my daughter Livvy 2.0. They were so rude and disrespectful. It was very hard for mama bear not to come out.”
Olivia has since spoken out
After the clips circulated online and she heard about the uproar, Olivia Dunne herself took to Twitter to urge fans of all genders and ages to show respect when attending meets.
I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job❤️
— Olivia Dunne (@livvydunne) January 8, 2023
“I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job,” she posted.
Dunne’s mother, Katherine, also spoke out, urging people to “stop shaming girls for the behavior of boys.
“It is not OK to blame any athlete/celebrity when fan behavior crosses the line,” she tweeted. “In a sport where all the girls wear nothing but leotards stop suggesting that how Livvy dresses means she deserves this in any way. Stop shaming girls for the behavior of boys.”
