Equally popular and controversial English broadcaster Piers Morgan has issued a public apology to Simone Biles on X. On July 28, 2021, the public figure caught severe backlash after criticizing the now 6x Olympic gold medalist for momentarily withdrawing from the Tokyo Games. “Simon Biles calls herself the Greatest of All Time – but no GOAT would quit on their teammates like that, costing them an Olympic gold medal” he had said back then.

However, the tables have turned after 3 years, and 3 days.

Simone Biles once again reiterated her legendary status after winning team gold in Paris, having vanquished her demons once and for all. The incredible comeback that started in the 2023 Core Hydration Classic, came to a head as Biles regained her Olympic crown in the team all-around finals. And how? Riding on Simone’s dominant performances, the US put up 171.296 points, almost six points ahead of the silver medalist Italy! Next up for Simone is the all-around final. But, seems like the 59-year-old did not want to risk being proved wrong again!

So Piers took to his X on July 30 to write, “I was too harsh on you in 2021 when you quit the team finals. You’re a great champion, and have since proved me wrong in the best possible way – by letting your supreme talent do the talking.” But the internet is equally ruthless to him in discarding the apology, as The Killer Interview star was in 2021 to Simone. And probably the community was fired up since on that occasion, Piers took a jab at the fans as well.

In the piece, carried in Daily Mail, Piers criticized the fans for sympathizing with Simone for withdrawing from the competition. “What happened to me exposed the ludicrous hypocrisy at the heart of the social media quitter-lovers,” Piers had written. Alongside Morgan also seemed dismissive of the 27-year-old’s mental health battles. Simone Biles decided to speak up on mental health struggles affecting her and other elite athletes during the Olympics.

The 30x world championship medalist garnered massive support for using the biggest platform in the sports world to spread awareness. Even the GOAT’s USA teammates, including Brody Malone, found her candid confession inspiring. However, the former Good Morning Britain host had a completely different take and felt that her moment of weakness wasn’t in line with her star wattage and pure champion spirit, being openly dismissive of the same, even pulling the names of some celebrities also.

“Twitter, led by two-faced ‘Be Kind!’ celebrity monsters like Ellen DeGeneres and Chelsea Handler, raced to congratulate her on her ‘courage’ and ‘heroism’ and heralded her as a ‘true inspiration’,” Piers had written. But one might wonder what led him to lash out so hard at Simone. There might be some clues in a 2019 interview with Simone that Piers conducted back in 2019 on Good Morning Britain.

During that interview, with every reply, Simone had radiated confidence and belief in her abilities. When she asked if she was the “most unbeatable athlete”, she said a jubilant yes without even thinking once. One more of the replies was even more direct.

“I feel like there are people out there that could potentially beat me,’ she replied, ‘but even on my worst days, like that day (in the 2018 World Championships) when I fell twice, with huge (points) deductions, and I didn’t think I was going to win, and I went on Floor thinking ‘Oh God, what’s going to happen now?’ and then I still won,” Simone had said on the show. Piers had mercilessly picked up Simone’s own comments in his article to criticize her.

Referring to the 2018 World Championships, he had declared that a similar act was expected of Simone in Tokyo as well. But Simone found carrying on with a bruised mind that might have landed her with a serious injury. Still, Piers thought, “Nothing heroic about quitting.” So it’s not difficult to see why many of the world’s most decorated gymnast’s fans felt incensed.

Simone Biles fans give no quarter to Piers Morgan

Some X-users, despite acknowledging the apology, felt the post lacked a true sense of humility. They seem to have found Piers Morgan’s tone more self-aggrandizing than apologetic. “A LITTLE BIT OF HUMILITY SIR BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS DEHUMANIZE,” one fan commented on the post. “Just apologize to her Piers,” commented another fan, who felt the same. Notably, in his 2021 article, Piers not only talked about Simone, he pulled tennis star Naomi Osaka in that as well.

Morgan highlighted Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open “because she didn’t like being asked by journalists why she doesn’t play as well on clay as other surfaces,” as written by him. Then in a rather discarding and mocking tone, he criticized that Osaka “suddenly cited” mental health as a reason for her withdrawal. It seems like Piers failed to recognize that fact that mental health issue of the athletes is a true demon that cannot be negated.

The athletes, most in their teenage or twenties, go out in high-profile competitions carrying the weight of the expectations of an entire nation. Putting up a brave face against that is easier said than done. No one is immune to that. Simone herself had said a few days ahead of her withdrawal, “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke!”

Yet, throughout his article Piers negated it, preferring to use the word “quit” instead of “withdraw”. And the fans did take note of it.

They pointed out that, although the 27-year-old didn’t stand atop the podium, she still brought home a team silver and a bronze for her balance beam performance in Tokyo despite grappling with mental health struggles. “I love how Piers is the self-proclaimed auditor of success and failure!” the X-user wrote, pointing out how Morgan omitted the fact. Amid all this, one fan asked a question.

“What’s the point in tweeting if you don’t read the comments or do you not have the guts to face it head-on, you f**king bully?” asked the individual. He pointed out the fact that Morgan went radio silent in the face of intense criticism and didn’t respond to comments. Meanwhile, a Simone Biles fan asked why the world’s most decorated gymnast should even pay heed to the UK resident.

“She don’t know you like that,” wrote the fan, indicating just because Morgan and Biles have interacted in the post doesn’t mean she competes to live up to the journalist’s expectations. While some Piers Morgan fans praised him for admitting he was wrong, they were few and far between. What did you think of the 59-year-old’s statement? Tell us in the comments.