McKayla Maroney is one of many others who are coming forward with their sexual assault stories on Twitter with the #MeToo movement.
In her open letter she posted to Twitter today, the former member of the Team USA Gymnastics team (the Fierce Five) claims that she was abused by the team’s doctor at the time, Dr. Larry Nassar.
If his name sounds familiar, it should — he’s currently facing 22 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct from 125 women and he has already pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in July.
“People should know that this is not just happening in Hollywood. This is happening everywhere,” McKayla writes in her letter. “Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse.”
She continues, “Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving ‘medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years.’ It started when I was 13 years old, at one of my first National Team training camps, in Texas, and it didn’t end until I left the sport. It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was ‘treated’.”
McKayla remembers a terrifying night in particular: “For me, the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old. I had flown all day and night with the team to get to Tokyo. He’d given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a ‘treatment.’ I thought I was going to die that night.”
The Fierce Five gymnast is featured in Wade‘s new video for his single “U Feel Like”.
“The opening shot reveals that what’s coming next is an alternate reality, illustrated by the camera’s static entrance into the vintage TV,” Wade shared about the video’s aesthetic.
He adds, “I sought to create a storyline that would depict possessions and arrogance as a temporary source of happiness. After watching a short film on an idealistic fantasy life, the viewer is pulled back into the real world.”
McKayla Maroney arrives for another day of Good Morning America on Thursday (August 11) in New York City.
Along with Dominique Dawes, the 20-year-old former gymnast and singer is competing in the “GMA Games” to celebrate the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
“I lost myself. It was an identity crisis, no doubt,” McKayla recently shared about leaving the sport behind. “I would go and meet people and they’d tell me, ‘You’re the gymnast.’ And I’m like, now that I’m no longer a competing gymnast, it throws people off and that would throw me off.”
She added, “I don’t want to let people down. It was such a big test for me to be like, you know what? No! I’m worth more than a gold medal. I’m worth more than being a gymnast. I am not what I do. I am who I am and I’m what I love.”
McKayla Maroney recreates her not impressed face that went viral four years ago during a her appearance on Good Morning America in New York City on Tuesday (August 9).
The 20-year-old former Olympic gymnast appeared next to Magnificent Seven gymnast Dominique Dawes to promote the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
During a FaceTime interview with TMZ, McKayla sent her thanks to Michael Phelps for creating a new meme from the games for his Phelps Face.
“I looked at his pictures and I was like YES! Go Michael! Take it, take it away! Please!” McKayla told TMZ Sports.
“I’m looking at them right now. They’re amazing, I now see why people thought it was so funny”, she added about her own meme, created after she won the silver medal for her vault at the 2012 London games. “They’re hilarious.”
Maddie Ziegler and sister Mackenzie step out to host TigerBeat’s Official Teen Choice Awards Pre-Party held at HYDE Sunset: Kitchen + Cocktails on Thursday night (July 28) in West Hollywood, Calif.
FYI: Maddie wore a Prose & Poetry dress, Jimmy Choo bag, Alexandra G shoes and Jennifer Meyer jewels. Mackenzie wore an Eliza B dress, Yes Kotur bag, Stuart Weitzman shoes and Jennifer Meyer jewelry. McKayla is wearing a Cate & Chloe ring and carrying a De Blossom Collection clutch.
45+ pics inside from the TigerBeat Teen Choice Party…
McKayla Maroney might not be going to the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics on the gymnastics team, but that doesn’t mean she’s not rooting for them.
You know, I really thought I was going to be there. Even six or seven months ago. But I ended up having some different health issues and I didn’t even realize that I was starting to fall out of love with the sport and in love with music,” the now 20-year-old shared with Seventeen mag. “Watching the Trials was definitely weird because I’m used to competing. But to watch [Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian] do as well as they did – these girls, their lives are about to be totally changed. And they’re a gold-medal team. I’m still excited for them.”
McKayla also opened up about what she’s been concentrating on now — music.
“I was a gymnast my whole life. I mean, I’d go to Starbucks and people would be like, ‘Are you going to the next Olympics?’ And when I’d say no, they’d literally look sad. So it was very hard for me to get excited about anything else,” she shared. “I thought that I had to do gymnastics forever. To be excited about this new piece of myself and this new part of my life is very special for me.”
McKayla added, “For the last year, I was just figuring out my sound. I’ve loved writing songs since I was really young. I thought I was going to be like Sia and sell my songs to people. But after they were done, I was like, ‘I’m not going to sell these to anybody! I want to sing them.’ I have some demos done and I’m going to be showing them to some bigger people in the industry and we’ll see where that takes me. In the next couple of months, I think I’ll have a single out, and I’m excited for people to hop on this new journey of mine.”
McKayla is also pictured leaving an acupuncture appointment in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon (July 14).
