Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
What were Charlie Kirk's exact comments on Simone Biles' withdrawal from the 2021 Olympics?
Executive summary
On his July 27, 2021 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, Charlie Kirk criticized Simone Biles after she withdrew from several Tokyo Olympic events, calling her things like “selfish,” “immature,” and saying she was a “shame to the country,” and he also said he “didn’t know whether anyone had ever sexually assaulted her” when introducing the segment [1] [2]. Reporting compiled by multiple fact-checks after later viral posts confirms Kirk’s on-air criticisms and the wording above, while noting Biles did not publicly respond to later internet claims tying her to posts about him [2] [3].
1. What Kirk actually said — the most-cited quotations
Transcript excerpts most frequently quoted in news accounts and fact checks show Kirk called Biles “selfish,” “immature,” and “a shame to the country,” and said of athletes like her “we are raising a generation of weak people,” urging that “if she's got all these mental health problems: don't show up” [1] [3]. Multiple outlets summarize that he urged young athletes who could handle pressure to take her place and framed her withdrawal as a national embarrassment [1] [4].
2. A startling introductory line that drew extra attention
Fact-checkers highlight that Kirk opened the segment by saying he did not know whether anyone had ever sexually assaulted Biles — a line reporters found notable because Biles had publicly accused former team doctor Larry Nassar of abuse years earlier [2] [5]. Snopes and other outlets specifically flag that phrasing as part of why his commentary attracted sharp criticism [2] [5].
3. Context: why the remarks stung and why outlets preserved the quotes
Kirk’s comments came the day after Biles withdrew from the team final and other events citing mental-health struggles and the “twisties,” a dangerous loss of spatial awareness in the air; her decision had already prompted widespread discussion about athlete mental health [6]. Outlets such as Newsweek quoted Kirk’s harsher epithets and juxtaposed them with widespread support for Biles from other athletes and mental-health advocates, explaining why his words were contested [1] [6].
4. How later viral claims revived the episode
In 2025, Kirk’s 2021 remarks resurfaced in a separate controversy after his death, when false posts claimed Simone Biles had written a blog mocking him; fact-checkers traced those memes back to the earlier episode and to satirical or fabricated posts, and they confirmed Biles made no such blog post [2] [6]. Those fact-checks repeat Kirk’s original derogatory language while debunking claims that Biles had publicly retaliated [2] [7].
5. Variations in how outlets paraphrased him — and why words differ
Different summaries and headlines use slightly different phrases — “disgrace,” “national disgrace,” “sociopath,” “shame to the country” — because some pieces paraphrase and some amplify for effect; Newsweek cites direct lines including “she’s an incredible athlete… she’s also very selfish, she’s immature and she’s a shame to the country,” while other sites report more extreme paraphrases that aggregate his tone [1] [3]. Readers should note that while broad insults are well-documented, exact single-word attributions (e.g., “sociopath”) appear in secondary reports and may reflect paraphrase or amplification [8] [3].
6. What the available sources do and do not say about responses
Available sources show that many public figures defended Biles and framed her withdrawal as a legitimate mental-health decision; they also show that Biles did not post the later alleged blog responding to Kirk after his death [1] [6]. Available sources do not mention any long-form, contemporaneous direct quote from Biles responding to Kirk’s 2021 remarks [2] [6].
7. Takeaway and how to verify fuller context
If you want the most precise phrasing, consult primary audio or transcripts of The Charlie Kirk Show from July 27, 2021; news outlets and fact-checks repeatedly cite the same core lines summarized above [2] [1] [3]. Be cautious with later social posts: fact-checkers warn that viral claims linking Biles to retaliatory posts are fabricated even while they correctly cite Kirk’s earlier criticisms [2] [6].
Limitations: this summary relies on reporting and fact-checks that compile and quote Kirk’s July 2021 commentary; primary audio/transcript links were not provided in the available results, so exact verbatim punctuation and every single word cannot be reproduced here beyond what the cited reports quote [2] [1] [3].