The Shady Side Of Olivia Dunne No One Talks About

Some might argue that millionaire college gymnast Olivia Dunne has the best of both worlds — a stellar career as a collegiate gymnast and a seismic social media following to boot! She's even carved out a very own niche brand for herself as an influencer. In turn, that personal brand has made her boatloads of money. "I am very grateful to be making seven figures," Dunne revealed during an exclusive interview with NBC's Stephanie Gosk about how her career exploded on social media. "It is very cool that someone in college has the opportunity to do that now," Dunne added, referring to the new 2021 law that allows college athletes to control and subsequently profit off of their own name, image, and likeness. 

Alas, it's not all college gymnastics meets and paid endorsement deals for Dunne. Unfortunately, her time in the spotlight has not been without controversy and scandal. As it turns out, even the golden girl of the gymnastics world has somewhat of a shady side.

It's no secret that Olivia Dunne is used to everyone singing her praises, but in 2023 the famous gymnast came under fire for photoshopping herself to appear slimmer. Social media user John Dorsey first raised the issue in February 2023 with a video wherein he presented several photos of Dunne, pointing out telltale signs that she had most likely manipulated the images to slim her waist. "You have millions of young women following you. It's kind of your duty to not do this," Dorsey said. "These young women will want to look like you and you can't even look like you without Photoshop. So where does that leave them?" he asked. Finally, in August 2023, Dunne appeared to take note of the criticism when she deleted several questionable photos from her social media. 

Perhaps, however, we should give Dunne some grace. Absolutely anyone can fall victim to body image issues — even star athletes with hefty bank accounts. In the past, Dunne has been very honest and forthcoming about her own struggles. "There was a whole new plethora of eyes that were on me," Dunne revealed during the second episode of Amazon Prime's "The Money Game" (via Essentially Sports). "I just didn't know what to do. And it was really hard with body image for a while." According to Dunne she also wrestled with nutrition and whether or not she should "fuel" her body "like a model or "like an athlete."

If you need help with an eating disorder or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

In November 2022, The New York Times published a piece titled, "New Endorsements for College Athletes Resurface an Old Concern: Sex Sells" of which star gymnast Olivia Dunne was also the star subject. Ironically, the photo they took of Olivia sporting her Louisiana State University-issued leotard while posing next to a balance beam was positioned right next to the attention-grabbing "Sex Sells" headline. 

Throughout the article, the journalist explored the idea that female athletes who choose to "play up their sexuality" on social media were effectively working against the efforts of others to make women's sports more equitable, even "reward[ing] traditional feminine desirability over athletic excellence." Contrastingly, the article also highlighted then-collegiate basketball player Haley Jones and her decision to refrain from posting bikini photos. "That's not the top topic type of content that I want to post, and my audience isn't looking for that for me," she told the New York Times.

Merely one day after the article was published, it was apparent Dunne was not pleased with the way the article shook out and she took to Instagram to air out her grievances. "Is this too much," she penned in her Instagram Story along with a photo of herself (via the New York Post) while directly tagging the daily newspaper. But that's not all. Dunne took it a step further during an interview with Fox News in which she referred to the story as a "hit piece." 

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater?! In June 2023, Olivia Dunne raised eyebrows everywhere when she promoted Caktus Artificial Intelligence, a platform that touts itself as the "first educational A.I. for students" on TikTok. As one can imagine, the backlash was swift and many took the college athlete to task for promoting a tool that has the capacity to generate entire research papers for students. Not exactly a good look for a college student with millions of followers — many of whom are also college students. 

Dunne's school, Louisiana State University, also seemingly reacted to the sponsored post with a carefully worded statement, without ever actually referencing Dunne or Caktus. "At LSU, our professors and students are empowered to use technology for learning and pursuing the highest standards of academic integrity," the school said, (via The Advocate). "However, using AI to produce work that a student then represents as one's own could result in a charge of academic misconduct, as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct." LSU students, you've been warned! 

Gentlemen GYMNASTS, start your engines! Olivia Dunne made quite the entrance when she arrived at the Nashville Superspeedway on June 25, 2023 for the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 to much fanfare. "Welcome to NASCAR @livvydunne!" the national racing association penned in a post on their official Instagram account along with three photos of the gymnast enjoying her time at the event. 

Alas, things took a turn for the worse when she posted a five-second video with two U.S. Army soldiers and the audio, "My pronouns are U-S-A." While many of her followers were praising her for the patriotic spirit, others were less than thrilled with what they perceived as her mocking the use of pronouns entirely. "That's so uneducated. Use a real grammatical pronoun. Not a tyrannical slogan that makes no d*** sense in the English language. Be better," one TikTok user wrote. Meanwhile, another commented, "LSU would discipline a regular student for s***ting on pronouns in any way." 

Olivia Dunne and internet personality and content creator Breckie Hill have often been compared due to their striking physical similarities. Alas, we all know comparison is the thief of joy. Hill made headlines in February 2023 when The Tea Talk posted a video of Hill calling Dunne out for her supposed unkind behavior. "Every single person that has, like, met her has been, like, 'Oh she's so mean in person'," Hill claimed. She went on to say that Dunne and her friends were "bullying" her and referring to her as an "Olivia Dunne dupe — like a Walmart version." Assuming Hill's claims are actually true, that's terrible. As for now, though, we'll just add this one to the ever-growing list of The Biggest Rumors About Olivia Dunne. 

Hill, however, doesn't appear to be completely innocent. "She's such a b****," Hill said during the same video. When asked whether or not she would slap Olivia, she answered with a resounding "yes." Hill also confirmed that many were referring to herself as "Olivia with cannons" and that she believed Dunne was initially angry because she felt as though she was being body-shamed. YIKES. As the old saying goes, two wrongs don't make a right!