Olympic gymnast and all-around champ Simone Biles has been killing it on Dancing With the Stars lately — we wouldn't be surprised if she took home a mirror ball trophy at the end of the season. Between getting her first tattoo, trying the Flamin' Hot Cheetos bagel, and enjoying her first forays into the world of dating, she seems to have her newfound stardom handled. Monday night, though, the 20-year-old endured some harsh criticism at the hands of the judges of DWTS. Julianne Hough and Carrie Ann Inaba both argued that Biles seemed robotic in her foxtrot with partner Sasha Farber. When host Tom Bergeron seemed surprised that Biles didn't smile at all during the exchange, she replied, "Smiling doesn't win you gold medals," as Us Weekly notes. Biles should know — she has four Olympic gold medals to her name.
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"You let out your signature smile after you did your trick, which was great...I felt you uncertain a little bit," Inaba said during the critiquing portion. "Be careful. Sometimes you dance like a metronome, you're so on the beat. I want to see if you can play a little bit, holding and extending."
Hough had similar words, and also claimed that Biles' smile seemed "inauthentic." (To which, we'd like to say: It's impossible to discern whether or not someone's facial expression is authentic.) The critiques were uniquely focussed on Biles' countenance, which seems at odds with the task at hand — this is a dance competition, not a grin 0ff.
"I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments but you didn't," Bergeron said, seemingly baffled at Biles' stoic demeanor. Cue: "Smiling doesn't win you gold medals."
Biles later addressed the comment. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Biles said, "I feel like I am trying, I am being honest, but if they don't see that, I don't know what more I can do." She also admitted that the criticism had more of an effect on her than it may have seemed.
"I had tears in my eyes," she explained. "I almost ran to the bathroom at one point, but I pulled it together."
Watch the clip of Biles' foxtrot, below.
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