Voice Verdicts: Simone Biles and DaBaby

This week we have admirable athlete Simone Biles and juvenile rapper DaBaby. 

Voice Verdicts: Simone Biles and DaBaby

Simone Biles

This week Simone Biles courageously showed the world that even a record breaking gymnast competing at the Olympics needs to prioritise their mental health above all else. The 24-year old has withdrawn from the USA gymnastics team and the finals in the Tokyo Olympics, and has since spoken out about her recent struggles with “twisties”, which are what gymnastics call a mental block. A four-time Olympic champion, Biles’s routines are so complex and advanced that often judges don’t know how to score them. They are also incredibly dangerous -– any hesitation or false move could lead to any number of dire accidents. 

Her ability to put aside the immense pressure that comes with being an Olympic athlete and prioritise her physical and mental safety while still supporting the rest of her team is laudable to say the least. She has since tweeted that “the outpouring of love & support I’ve received has made me realise I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before”. Her act of bravery and self-love reaches beyond the world of professional athleticism and teaches us that external success should not come at the expense of your health and happiness. Even for someone like me, who is as non-athletic as it’s possible to be, Biles is a role model for self-preservation. 

DaBaby

It’s not uncommon for a rapper to be embroiled in controversy, but at the Rolling Loud Miami Festival this week DaBaby managed to live up to his childish stage name twice in the space of two days. For his first incendiary move, DaBaby brought out fellow rapper Tory Lanez immediately after Megan Thee Stallion’s set. Why is this an issue? Well, last year Lanez was charged with assault for shooting Megan in the foot, and she has since issued a restraining order against him. DaBaby’s deliberate decision to condone Lanez’s behaviour goes beyond your average rap industry beef and exemplifies the disrespect male rappers continue to show to their female counterparts. 

If this wasn’t enough, DaBaby then thought it would be a good idea to make homophobic comments to a crowd at another performance. The rapper asked every audience member to "put your cell phone light up", apart from those who were HIV-positive or were gay men who had “sex in car parks”. He also made the false claim that HIV will "make you die in two or three weeks". He has since been dropped from his collaboration with online fashion retailer Boohoo, and singer Dua Lipa, whose hit song Levitating he features on, stated that she was “surprised and horrified” by his words. He’s gone from defending his comments to apologising, but it’s certainly tainted his career. Hopefully DaBaby learns to humble his 5’8” self. 

Header Image Credit: "Simone Biles" by Susie Butler is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Author

Claire Jenns

Claire Jenns Kickstart Team

English Literature graduate, loves reading, writing and travel.

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