Simone Biles surprised fans when she flexed a short bob at the 58th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
Biles’ ear-length cut was paired with a silver off-the-shoulder dress on the red carpet at the music awards show.
Earlier in the day, the 27-year-old Columbus, Ohio, native previewed her trimmed tresses for her 13 million Instagram followers while posing with a friend.
This comes months after Biles, the most decorated Olympic gymnast in American history, took a lot of incoming fire from fans who thrashed her hairstyle while she performed in Paris over the summer. She now has 11 medals in total, including seven gold, but she was perplexed that the majority of the conversation about her on social media was about her edges.
Simone Biles spoke about the criticisms of her hair during the Olympics
Biles conveyed to Elle magazine that she was crushed by the blizzard of criticisms she incurred for wearing her hair up during one gymnastics performance.
“I used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional,” she said. “But I’m not embarrassed about it anymore.”
She added that she was disappointed that the majority of the hate for her hairstyle came from the Black community.
“Most of the backlash we get is from our own community, which is unfortunate,” Biles told the magazine. “I don’t really care if my edges aren’t smooth.”
Biles clapped back at her critics
Biles grew tired of the narrative about how her hair would look disheveled during her performances and finally clapped back.
Biles went on to rationalize why she prefers a practical hairdo over something more showy.
“I don’t want my extensions falling out or this that [and] the other,” she said to Elle. “We don’t get to bring a makeup artist or a hairstylist.”
