Advertisement

Gabby Douglas Is Flying High Above Her Haters

From Cosmopolitan

Despite being the most-criticized athlete at the Rio Olympics, Gabby Douglas wants her haters to know she still had a "fantastic" time, and no amount of trolling could take away from the fact that she got to take home another gold medal for her country.

"Maybe people weren't being fair on social media, but that's social media for you," she told People. "I just found things to be positive about, and there's a lot to be happy about. We won the gold medal as a team, and it was just such an amazing experience. I came to the Olympics and won a gold medal!"

"I can only do what I can do, and if people want to say their stuff on social media, I can't stop them," she continued.

Throughout the Olympics, Gabby's critics were relentless, and, for a while, it seemed like there was nothing she could do that wouldn't immediately be picked apart. Gabby was criticized for her hair, for her "lack" of patriotism after not putting her hand over her heart during the national anthem, and for not smiling enough when her teammates were performing. But the backlash against the athlete soon came with a backlash of its own: People began tweeting using the hashtag #LOVE4GABBYUSA to show their support for her, and, soon, the negativity was drowned out by admiration.

"That was just awesome," she told People. "It felt really good to have people support me. It was a good reminder that where there is hate, love is more."

Now, the athlete is mostly looking forward to heading home and going on tour with the rest of the Final Five - and, despite the unexpected criticism she received this year, she seems more optimistic than ever about the future.

"It was a different experience than the last Olympics, but I'm happy with it," she concluded. "I can't wait to see what's next."

Follow Gina on Twitter.