At three years old, Olivia Dunne was adamant that she wanted to own a sparkly pink leotard. But that was easier said than done, with her parents looking for a logical reason behind the desire. So what did little Livvy do? Of course, the most logical thing any toddler could come up with at that age. She enrolled in a gymnastics class. Thankfully, Livvy had the talent. But, as her wish of owing that elusive leotard finally came true—evident from every single picture available on her old gym, ENA Gymnastics’ website—two decades later, the outfit also symbolizes years of success, achievements, fame, and a lot of sacrifices and pain.

As things stand, the gymnast’s life walks on a fine balance of making everyday work with a smile, while also fighting those trying to drag her down. On one hand, she’s a massive social media star with 13.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and X, and enjoys the highest NIL value among female athletes with a $4.1 million valuation as per On3. On the contrary, that fame is also directly proportional to the amount of hate and criticism she receives from the community. And the one complaint that has cropped up time and again? Her eligibility.

When Livvy joined the Louisiana State University in the summer of 2020, owing to a raging COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted her a fifth year of eligibility. Now, as Baton Rouge is all set to step into the NCAA finals on April 3, a big question remains unanswered—will we see Dunne in the upcoming meet before she bows out of the college gymnastics landscape for good? The LSU star gymnast has been out of the competition since January owing to the avulsion fracture in her patella. Despite this, she has been a key figure from the bench, helping and celebrating with the team. After the SEC win on March 22 this year, the 22-year-old posted multiple stories of the team celebrating over social media. Dunne also doubled down on the nostalgia of the victory with another TikTok post on March 28. But what was an innocent, celebratory post soon turned into a battleground for harsh critics…

Notably, in the video, the gymnast could be seen celebrating the SEC win with her LSU teammates. She posted multiple clips of the celebration with the caption, “Mentally still here”. With Taylor Swift’s Right Where You Left Me playing in the background, it was a moment of pride and reflection—one that was ruined soon after. Interestingly, this is just one of many incidents where the LSU star has had to defend herself.

Just last month, the young star had posted about LSU gymnastics’ senior night ceremony, where a TikTok user had commented, “Don’t worry, you’ll be a senior for the next 10 years.” While Dunne responded to the comment writing, “Why do you care?”, soon after, she hit back again. “I only ever see this comment on female athletes’ posts. Football and basketball players redshirt and take fifth years all the time,” she said on the video-sharing app. Dunne also pointed out the double standard by mentioning LSU football’s starting quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier, who is also returning for a fifth year without facing the same scrutiny. “This comment is nowhere to be found on his account.”

But despite her efforts to reason with her trolls, they’ve hardly backed down…

Fans question Olivia Dunne’s eligibility

As soon as Dunne’s TikTok went viral over the internet, tons of comments flooded in. Many of them were questioning her presence in the LSU team, directly taking a shot at the years she has spent in college. “8 years of school only 1 natty.” This was a clear shot at the LSU star winning only one NCAA championship in her whole collegiate gymnastics career.

The attack on the number of years she has spent in college did not stop there. It started to mold into sarcasm and exaggeration. This was evident in this one fan’s comment, reading, “95th year of college.” One other fan questioned, “Didn’t u already win many of these in ur 8 years“. An indirect approach to questioning her celebration, maybe. This was Dunne and LSU Gymnastics’ second straight SEC championship.

One comment even mentioned, “8 years of college btw.” To this, the gymnast had even responded, “What’s it to ya.” 

Another hit at the celebration was this one fan telling her, “Move out of the other girls spotlights for two seconds 💀”. Given that this is her last year with LSU, the comment seemed to mock her celebrations with her teammates as somewhat of a selfish move. Another fan told her, “Bro time to make a LinkedIn“. At the same time, many fans have also stood behind Olivia Dunne, questioning those with the 8-year math. But, looks like, Dunne wouldn’t have to make a LinkedIn profile after all, as she already has her future blueprint ready.

The star reportedly wants to build a brand that extends way beyond gymnastics. In a conversation with the New York Post in September last year, she talked about her Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition debut in 2023, and mentioned, “I feel like [Sports Illustrated] is something that can last beyond college. I think that’s important, creating a substantial brand that will last post-college. And [SI Swim] is one of those, I don’t even want to call it a partnership, because they’re like family to me. That’s been amazing.”

For those who don’t know, Dunne already has a Livvy Fund at LSU which focuses on helping female student-athletes at her university get NIL deals. As per the gymnast-turned-influencer’s revelations, “Girls don’t know where to start. Because that’s sometimes half the battle. And it’s very important to capitalize on your NIL while you’re in college if you’re a female, because there’s not a lot of professional leagues after college for most women’s sports. So I definitely want to do something [in NIL] overall, after I’m done at LSU. And hopefully expand beyond LSU and help educate people and just help girls out…I’ve always loved sports. So definitely something in the sports realm.”

So, one thing’s clear: Hate or no hate, Olivia Dunne is going to soar.