Simone Biles Says She Welcomes GOAT Status Because “It Makes People Happy and Then It Just Pisses People Off”

“There’s always the comments like, ’Stop calling her the G.O.A.T. She’s not the G.O.A.T.’”

Simone Biles
(Image credit: Getty Images/Laurence Griffiths)

Gymnast Simone Biles is more than happy to accept the title of "GOAT"...especially because she knows it upsets her haters.

During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the most decorated gymnast of all-time touched on her well-earned GOAT status (meaning the "greatest of all time") and how it evokes both adoration and disgust from fans and foes alike.

“I think it’s funny to play off, obviously all of my fans and people have embraced, loved and supported me throughout my journey,” Biles, told late night host Fallon. “But also the haters, because there’s always the comments like, ‘Stop calling her the G.O.A.T. She’s not the G.O.A.T.’ So it’s like it makes people happy and then it just pisses people off.”

Biles went on to say that even after earning a more-than-impressive 11 Olympic medals, as long as she's "inspiring the next generation and having fun and just making sure that it’s not all about winning" she's doing her job.

Simone Biles

Simone Biles

(Image credit: Future)

"But still putting a good foot forward even when it doesn’t go your way, I think that’s what I would want it to be,” she added.

In a previous interview with People, Biles also touched on her now-famous diamond GOAT necklace (a literal goat covered in diamonds) that she wore during the 2024 Paris Games.

"At the end of the day, it is crazy that I'm in the conversation of greatest of all time athletes because I still think I'm Simone Biles from Spring, Texas, that loves to flip," she told the publication at the time.

"And the haters hate it so I love that even more and it's just a special part of me that I have here, as well as in the village I have like a stuffed goat, just to get a reminder: 'You can go out there, you can do it, you've done it before, so let's go,'" she added.

Jade Carey, Sunisa Lee, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera of Team USA celebrate their gold medal win in the artistic gymnastics women's team final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Jade Carey, Sunisa Lee, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera of Team USA celebrate their gold medal win in the artistic gymnastics women's team final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

(Image credit: Tom Weller/VOIGT/GettyImage)

Teammate Jordan Chiles—who was recently stripped of her 2024 Summer Olympics bronze medal—reportedly gifted Biles the GOAT necklace after she won her second gold medal in this year's Summer Games.

In one 2019 interview, Biles touched on how important it is for young girls to know that it's more than OK to acknowledge how good they are at a job, at school, or at a sport.

“It’s important to teach our female youth that it’s OK to say, ‘Yes, I am good at this,’ and you don’t hold back," Biles said at the time. “You only see the men doing it. And they’re praised for it, and the women are looked down upon for it. But I feel like it’s good (to do) because once you realize you’re confident and good at it, then you’re even better at what you do.”

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.