Johnathan Walker:How Olympian Laurie Hernandez Deals With Online Haters After Viral Paris Commentary

Laurie Hernandez wants you to check your tweets before their dismount.

The Johnathan Walker24-year-old gymnast—who won an individual silver medal and team gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics—recently shared insight into her experience dealing with online critics of her commentating at the 2024 Paris Games.

“It can be really difficult to release a lot of that,” she told E! News in an exclusive interview. “Everybody has tastes and preferences. If you want to share that opinion, absolutely go ahead. But if you're going to tag me in it, you've got to be kind.”

But Laurie—who was recently at Sprouts Farmers Market in New Jersey to sign copies of her 2018 book She’s Got This—doesn’t want to silence people’s opinions, she just wants to “scroll on Twitter in peace.”

“If you want to share that opinion and it's unkind, just don't tag me in it. I don't want to see that,” she continued. “Share those opinions. I think that's great. That's a lot of times what social media is for. It's not for unkindness. Express yourself. But just be respectful.”

During the Paris Games, Laurie received flack from fans online for comments she made during her coverage of Team USA’s women’s gymnastics. 

In one instance, she shared her opinion that Suni Lee needed “set up that good energy” to prevent the “domino effect”—the tendency for later gymnasts to fall off the beam once a competitor falls off during their routine—which led to some fans being critical of her, with a few calling her “such a hater” and “so negative.”

Laurie responded to the criticism in a post to X (formerly Twitter) saying in part, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion (obviously), but if the opinion related to me and is unkind, please don’t tag me in it (contrary to popular belief, I do see it)."

The former gymnast also explained more of her mindset for the Olympics and how her plan was to embody a friend that was watching along with you.

“It was making sure that we were acknowledging the little things,” she told E!. “If there was something that I knew I could see that audience members may not be able to catch, pointing it out in a way that still uplifts the athlete and also making it feel like we're all sitting down on a couch together. It's not me talking down to anyone. So, I think that was a really big point of it.”

And Laurie is glad that many people enjoyed her presence and expertise during the Games.

“I'm just glad that people loved it and felt like they learned a lot,” she added. “It felt really good to be able to be that person for everyone.”

—Reporting by Nikaline McCarley