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"I've received so much hate"- When Suni Lee deleted her pictures with then-boyfriend Jaylin Smith
Suni Lee once faced backlash for dating Jaylin Smith, a football player of the USC Trojans, for alleged interracial differences. The Olympic medalist went official with Smith in December 2021 after sharing pictures of herself cuddling with the football player but has since then deleted those from her Instagram handle.
Suni Lee, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics all-around champion, entered the Paris Olympics to defend her all-around title. The first Hmong-American Olympian sat out of most of the competitions in 2023 in the wake of kidney-related issues. However, she persevered and returned for another Olympic run.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Suni Lee won the all-around team gold with her US squad, scoring 171.296 and retaining the position after a silver finish in Tokyo. After sweeping three medals in the latter event, Lee decided to share her personal life updates on social media. She posted a carousel of pictures with her boyfriend Jaylin Smith (a football player for the USC Trojans) on Instagram on December 26, 2021, per NBC.
However, Lee deleted those pictures from her Instagram handle, and in response to a TikTok post from December 30, 2021, the 21-year-old had admitted to facing racial backlash for dating Smith.
"I know that Sunisa will be judged by certain eyes in the Hmong Community because her man is Black. LOVE is LOVE, no matter what race or gender you are. Keep doing you QUEEN," read the caption of the TikTok video. (via People)
In response, Lee expressed happiness over the user's support, adding that she had received a lot of hate.
"This makes me so happy. I've received so much hate, they support me when it's beneficial for them never when it comes to my happiness. thank you!" she had written.
While the exact date is not known of when Suni Lee deleted her pictures with Jaylin Smith, the two didn't post any pictures together afterward and have not been spotted together as well.
Suni Lee shared about getting targeted for her Asian descent
In an interview with Pop Sugar in 2021, Lee shared about the horrifying incident, when she faced racist hate from a group of people. She and her friends (all of them were of Asian descent) were waiting for an Uber ride when a car drove by and shouted racist slurs at them. Not only that, someone from inside the car pepper-sprayed on Lee's arm.
"I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off. I didn’t do anything to them, and having the reputation, it’s so hard because I didn’t want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen," Lee said. (via Pop Sugar)
Lee won the gold with Team USA at the Paris Olympics Olympics. In the individual all-around competition, the former Auburn gymnast won a bronze medal behind Simone Biles and Rebecca Andrade, who took gold and silver respectively.
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