Not long ago, Simone Biles voiced out some strong feelings about paying a high amount to glam herself. And this time, a NewsNation reporter had quite the sharp reply.

The world-class gymnast’s initial complaint was paying $23K for makeup and hair, speculatively for the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. And the NewsNation reporter Batya Ungar-Sargon had some sarcastic lines for Biles.

“The Olympic gymnast, worth an estimated $25 million, is outraged that it costs so much to glam yourself up these days,” stated the reporter. “How dare those makeup artists and hairstylists try to make a living? How dare they charge Simone Biles so much money...”

Biles questioned earlier, "If this is normal," to pay such an amount over glam. The reporter replied that the world must have “gone to seed” when someone like Biles "is expected to share some of her immense wealth with the people who make her look good.”

However, the real “outrage”, per the reporter, was not the high price or "living wage" Biles paid.

It was that she “both paid it and then complained about it.” After all, “if there's one thing worse than a clueless, out-of-touch gazillionaire, it's a cheap one.”

Simone Biles' shock at a $23,000 glam bill for a single red carpet event stems from her vocal stance on financial value, despite her $25 million net worth as of 2026.

Simone Biles has earned a career total of $282,500 in official Olympic medal prize money from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

These winnings are only a small fraction of her total career earnings. She also holds high-profile endorsement contracts with companies like Athleta and Visa

Amidst the harsh critique, no replies have come from Biles yet. However, this was not really the first time Biles complained about high prices.

Simone Biles Said Something Similar in 2024

Coming freshly off the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 29-year-old experienced a similar situation. Even then, Biles took the matter to TikTok and shared the incident with others, while calling the whole scenario “crazy.”

“After the closing ceremonies, we went out, and y’all, this club tried to charge me $26,000 for a bottle of champagne,” Biles shared in August, 2024.

“Like, are you serious? Obviously, I didn’t buy it. But why would they even try to play me like that? That’s wild,” Biles added.

Similarly, how she didn’t name the event this year, Biles didn’t name the club either. And 2 years later, it almost feels like a déjà vu.

With that being said, what are your opinions on this matter? Let us know in the comments.

Follow She Got Game for more.

Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Utsav Gupta