Olympics champ Gabby Douglas channels her experience with online haters into SUCH an important cause
Cyber bullying has been a hot topic throughout the year, because we’ve seen an increase in the negative comments online. And plenty of public figures have experienced it. One of those affected by online bullies, Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas, hit back at her haters by supporting an anti-harrassment campaign.
Throughout the 2016 Rio Olympics, Gabby faced criticism for what was interpreted to be her “attitude.” Because she had won the All-Around Gold Medal in 2012, many people online read too much into her expressions in 2016. Gabby received tons of negative, hateful messages from people online. And now, she wants to use her experience overcoming online haters by helping others do the same.
Gabby Douglas spoke to Michael Strahan on Good Morning America about her experience with online bullying.
Gabby tells Michael that she started googling herself, which she admits she shouldn’t have done. But she said, “I was very hurt.”
Gabby has joined Hack Harassment as their first Change Ambassador.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOF899tApuT
It’s a part of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. Gabby explained that after the Olympics, she didn’t just want to keep talking about cyber bullying. She said, “I actually wanted to do something about it.” Gabby will travel to campuses around the country to campaign against online bullying.
When talking about why she wanted to get involved with this cause, Gabby said, "I just want to say that you are not alone. And even though it may seem the world's against you - and I definitely felt like the world was definitely against me in Rio - I'm here today to tell you that's not the case."
We are so grateful to Gabby for lending her voice and her experience to this important issue.
Luckily, along with a lot of the negative comments, Gabby has found support. And we’d like to add our voices to say that we love Gabby and we totally support her in this awesome cause.
To learn more about Hack Harassment, check out their website here.
