With Valentine’s day quickly approaching, many new celebrity couples have announced their relationships. But there is controversy surrounding one relationship in particular. That relationship happens to be American gymnast Simone Biles and her spouse, Green Bay Packers safety, Jonathan Owens. The drama began when Owens stated that he was unaware of Biles’ status as an elite gymnastic star when he came upon her profile one day on a dating app. Owens specifically states, “I didn’t know who she (Simone Biles) was at the time, but the first thing that I saw was that she just had a bunch of [Instagram] followers so in my mind, I’m like, ‘OK, she got to be good.” To some this may have come off as just a person unfamiliar with gymnastics and the olympics where Biles has thrived as an American gymnast, holding the record for the most World Championship medals (30), as well as the most gold medals (23) in World Championship history for an athlete of either sex.
However, the internet quickly became upset with Owens, taking Owens’ innocent ignorance as an insult to Biles. On top of that, during the same interview Owens had a controversial perspective on “the catch” in a relationship. When Owens stated that he was unfamiliar with Biles, both hosts of the show looked at Owens skeptically, causing him to instinctively respond, “I promise you.” The host then sarcastically asked, “So you was really the catch?” to which Owens responded, “I always say the man is the catch.” This, along with Owen’s shocking lack of knowledge regarding Simone Biles, made many people think that Owens was intentionally disregarding Simone and her accomplishments.
Biles, however, did not take offense to Owens’ statements at all. Taking to social media on December 23, Biles addressed the media’s comments regarding her husband’s statements. Biles posted a meme of a confused child under the caption, “are y’all done yet,” implying that she is tired of the media attempting to create a negative image for her husband. Owens is not bothered by the media comments either, posting a photo of himself and Biles kissing under the caption, “Unbothered” on Instagram.
Overall, I do not believe that it is the media’s place to make statements or assumptions regarding another person’s relationship. If Biles is not bothered by her husband’s comments and is in a happy relationship with Owens, people should not attempt to paint a negative image regarding a person they know little to nothing about in real life. Owens merely stated his opinion on relationships and his unfamiliarity with Biles. Nothing he said was offensive or out of the ordinary, and the media does not have the right to diminish his character based on a miniscule soundbite.
