Leave Simone Biles's Wedding Hair Alone

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens tied the knot in a lovely courthouse ceremony in Houston, Texas, her hometown, on Saturday, April 22. The couple looked radiant and happy in the photos they shared, but some people still felt the need to comment on how Biles’s hair “should” have been styled for her big day.

One Twitter user, who has since deleted their tweet, wrote, “she coulda at least got a lace front for her wedding like,” after seeing Biles’s hair in a high ponytail with loose curls. They ignored the fact that this ceremony was just a legal formality before her destination wedding abroad, and also showed how Black women can sometimes be the most harsh critics of each other.

Why did they choose to focus on her hair instead of celebrating such a joyful occasion? This kind of rhetoric is damaging, as it reinforces the idea that Black women need to have expensive hair extensions or go to a professional salon regularly to be considered beautiful.

This is not an isolated case. Before Biles, there was Gabrielle Douglas. In 2012, the Olympic gymnast led her team to victory by winning the gold all-around medal, but instead of being praised, she was criticized for how her bun looked while competing. It happened again in 2012, but this time, she was also attacked for not smiling or cheering enough for her teammates. When will the excessive scrutiny of Black women end? Especially by other Black women?

Fortunately, many people defended Biles and called out the users who made the negative remarks. Biles looked beautiful regardless of the unwarranted comments, and we are excited to see what she will do for her destination wedding. In the meantime, let’s all remember the old saying: if you don’t have something nice

---