16 year old Gabby Douglas has quickly become one of America’s sweethearts, especially after her dynamic performance at the 2012 London Olympics, where Gabby made history with her two gold medals. It definitely hasn’t been easy for the teenager, and not just because of comments about her hair. Douglas opens up to Oprah Winfrey on her interview for Sunday’s episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter, discussing how she felt isolated even while training.
As Douglas was training for the Olympics in Virginia, she even got a hard time from some of her fellow gymnasts. One of them even referred to Gabby as “their slave”, a comment that made Douglas feel very uneasy.
“I definitely felt isolated. I felt, why am I deserving this?” she said. “Is it because I’m black? Like, those thoughts would go through my mind.”
Things didn’t quite lighten up in Virginia, so Gabby moved her training to a facility in Iowa, and continued pursuing her Olympic dreams. Coaches at the Virginia gym feel a bit slighted as far as receiving credit for the gymnast’s training.
BMWK family, did you watch Gabby on OWN? What were your thoughts?