Jordan Chiles is living a mixed dream at the moment. On one hand, she’s diving headfirst into all sorts of fun since her return from Paris. On the other, she’s wrestling with the bittersweet memory of losing out on that Olympic bronze medal just days after winning it. On September 11, 2024, Chiles hit the MTV Video Music Awards, and surprise, surprise—she walked away with some shiny hardware, even though she’s not a musician.

During the show, the one and only Flavor Flav took the stage and dropped a jaw-dropping surprise: he called out Jordan’s name and presented her with a replica bronze medal! This heartwarming gesture was his way of celebrating her incredible performance in Paris. After all, having her Olympic bronze stripped by the CAS must’ve stung, so you can bet this moment had her tearing up a bit. And let’s be real, even though the medal was part of Flavor Flav’s signature clock collection, it still turned into a viral sensation!

And with such a special moment taking place at such a prestigious event, Chiles’ mother could not be more proud of her daughter. Speaking on the ‘Got It From My Momma’ podcast, Jordan Chiles’ mother Gina opened up about the moment, expressing her gratitude towards the legendary rapper. Gina Chiles was shocked when Flavor Flav pulled out the bronze medal. For she did not expect that someone like Flavor Flav would care about Chiles’ Olympic medal controversy so much.

Opening up on the feel-good moment, Gina Chiles said, “And so when I watched the walk out on stage, I was like, “There is no way that is Jordan walking with Flav on the VMA stage.” Jordan with that big old smile. And as soon as I saw the smile, as soon as I saw the smile, it was very healing in a way to me, because you know she was living out a non-gymnastics dream.” Gina Chiles said that hosting the VMA was surely a dream that Jordan was living out of her gymnastics aspirations.

As is common with all the shows, the dialogues are scripted. Thus, when the incident took place, Gina Chiles initially thought that Jordan and Flav had actually rehearsed the entire segment. But that was not the case. Flavor Flav went completely out of script and surprised everyone. Jordan’s mother stated she could sense that her daughter was trying hard to control her emotions and get back to hosting the event.

But with the audience cheering loudly, things were getting tough for Jordan. She also mentioned Jordan hugging Taylor Swift and Post Malone, which seemed like a fairytale for her. Unfortunately, while the VMA went like a fairytale, the other half of Jordan Chiles’ life does not look quite like a fairytale post-Paris. 

Jordan Chiles keeps her Olympic battle on

Back in Paris, Jordan Chiles had a dream outing. She initially helped her teammates win the Team gold medal. Next up, competing in the individual floor finals, Chiles once again impressed, getting her hands on the Olympic bronze medal. But soon, things started to haywire for the young gymnast. Chiles had one of the biggest shocks of her life when the CAS asked her to return her bronze medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. 

Perplexed by the decision, Chiles was informed that Cecile Landi was late in submitting the inquiry. According to the rules, an inquiry for the final participant can be submitted within a minute. However, upon investigating the matter, the CAS found out that Landi was forty-seven seconds late. 

But Team USA wasn’t about to throw in the towel so easily. They presented a video claiming to show that Landi wasn’t late after all, sparking a new round of drama. After the initial hearing, things took a toll on Chiles, who understandably slipped into a depression and went off the grid, even cutting off her social media. Thankfully, her BFF Simone Biles wasn’t having any of that and stepped in, pulling Chiles out of her self-imposed isolation. Now, with the support of her team and friends, Chiles is taking her case to the Swiss Tribunal, hoping for some brighter news.