Gabby Douglas Doesn't Understand Why People Are Mad About Her Hair

Gabby Douglas is fine with how her hair looked during the Olympic gymnastics all-around final, but even if she wanted it to look differently, there’s nothing she could have done. There are no stations to freshen up or breaks to look in a mirror in between events. A gymnast has to compete with the product she puts in her hair prior to the competition, and since anything put in that early is sweated out, there’s nothing that can be done to improve the quality. That’s why almost every female gymnast wears her hair slicked straight back in a ponytail.

That’s what the sixteen-year-old told US Weekly today in response to the growing controversy about her hairstyle choice. An overwhelming majority of Americans watched her performance with nothing but admiration. Unfortunately, a small segment of viewers, mostly African-American women, took to Twitter during the event to criticize Douglas for how poorly her hair looked. Apparently, they thought she should have stopped what she was doing, headed to the bathroom and put a little product in her hair before flipping around on the uneven bars.

Douglas’ mother raged about the controversy in an interview with Fashionista, but her daughter was much more reserved as she took a goofier and more lighthearted approach in dealing with the controversy.

The only appearance that really matters is that of Douglas’ medal, which, for the record, looks gold.