It’s no secret that LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne has become arguably the most well known social media influencer in college sports.
The 20-year-old has seen an insane rise in popularity, stemming from her presence on TikTok and Instagram. Making over 7 figures right now, she’s the highest paid female athlete in college sports.
However, there has been a cost when it’s come to her rise in fame.
A few weeks back, Dunne and the LSU gymnastics team traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to take on the University of Utah in a meet.
Needless to say, the stands were packed, but the majority of the stadium was filled with dudes who were trying to catch a glimpse of Dunne.
In fact, it got so excessive that they began to make creepy comments.
Two-time Olympic medalist Kathy Johnson Clarke was also in attendance, where she shared a creepy moment she had with a bunch of Dunne fans:
“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.”
And to make matters worse, Utah gymnast Jillian Hoffman’s mother, Jennifer, took to Facebook to share, and admitted that she and her daughter felt disrespected at the event, according to Outkick:
“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.”
(Jillian and her teammate) were approached by a large group of teenage boys, disappointed that LSU had already left the arena and they wouldn’t be getting the photos of their dreams.
They did not know the girls names. They just wanted photos with gymnasts and were disrespectful in the things they were saying. End of story!”
After Hoffman’s mom made the comments, Dunne took to Twitter to address the situation, saying:
“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.”
In fact, it’s gotten so excessive, that LSU has had to hire a security team to follow the gymnastics team around.
Now, with that being said, Dunne made an appearance on TODAY, where she recalled an incident with a weirdo fan last year, that ultimately resulted in having to get the police involved. She didn’t go into any further detail about the situation.
Dunne also talked about how crazy the team’s trip to Salt Lake City was:
“In the past I have had some of my supporters come out to the meets and watch and cheer for LSU, but that was insane. It really was.”
She also spoke about how even though she may post videos and pictures that might be too “revealing” to some people, she added that it’s no reason for guys to objectify women, saying:
“As a woman, you are not responsible for how a man looks at you and objectifies you. That’s not a woman’s responsibility.”
Her coach, Jay Clark, and LSU have supported her endeavors and success, and essentially have encouraged her to continue to building her personal brand. Aside from Olympic aspirations which can include sponsorship money for world-class athletes, gymnastics doesn’t really have a path towards a money-making professional career.
Getcha bag, girl.
You can check out the full interview here:
