Gabby Douglas is the first African American in Olympic history to win the all-around competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics.
You recall how she was criticized during last year’s games for her hair, yet again, and for not having her hand on her heart and for allegedly looking “angry” while on the 2016 Fab Five squad.
After catching a lot of heat over how she presents herself to the world, ET caught up with Gabby to find out if the 21-year-old athlete has future Olympics goals?
Will we see her at the 2020 Games in Tokyo? She’s not sure.
“It’s up in the air,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I’ve spent 14 years in the gym and this is just a really nice break to take.”
As for last year’s Olympics, Douglas said that she learned a lot from the experience, including not living up to other people’s standards and expectations.
“In 2016, in Rio, I admit that I made a few mistakes. But I, at the end of the day, was thrown off. From going here to being here, and that literally was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s happening?’ I feel like I was trying to live up to society’s standards by doing what they wanted me to do and I felt myself changing. I was super hurt because I was like, ‘Wait, what? This is not me at all.’ And the way people were trying to portray me and the media and I was like, ‘You guys don’t know me. This is not me at all and I’m just struggling.’ You’re going to have battles that you win and you’re going to have battles that you lose. But at the end of the day, I was super, super happy that fans were still supporting me and still coming out with positive things and encouragement.”
So what does Douglas want to do next? Tackle Hollywood, of course. Acting is on Gabby’s bucket list.
“[I want to] be on TV like in a movie space like film, acting,” she said, stating that she has already started auditioning. “I have a few projects in the works and I’m currently taking acting classes right now, so I’m excited.”
(Photo Credit: Associated Press)
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