I'm So Disappointed In You: Celebrity Missteps

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

I’ve heard that many people claim to need money for one thing and then use the money for something else. Funding a lifestyle beyond their means comes to mind. 

I don't know what is worse: Miss Retton having defended someone who  was convicted of horribly abusing pre-adult athletes in the field she'd shined in or   pleading poverty after illness then evidently using the windfall of well-intended donors for extravagance instead of for necessities- to say nothing of possibly being oblivious to the other drivers' and pedestrians safety on the road when getting behind the wheel not totally sober!

 BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Makai]

10 hours ago, Blergh said:

I don't know what is worse: Miss Retton having defended someone who  was convicted of horribly abusing pre-adult athletes in the field she'd shined in or   pleading poverty after illness then evidently using the windfall of well-intended donors for extravagance instead of for necessities- to say nothing of possibly being oblivious to the other drivers' and pedestrians safety on the road when getting behind the wheel not totally sober!

 BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To clarify, she didn’t defend Nassar after his abuse became public. She defended USA Gymnastics once it became public how they turned a blind eye to the abuse. She actively tried to convince Congress not to pass the Safesport Act in the aftermath of Nassar. She actively worked against the gymnasts who spoke up against the widespread abuse throughout the organization. 

Edited Saturday at 11:19 PM by Makai

[Notabug]

32 minutes ago, Makai said:

To clarify, she didn’t defend Nassar after his abuse became public. She defended USA Gymnastics once it became public how they turned a blind eye to the abuse. She actively tried to convince Congress not to pass the Safesport Act in the aftermath of Nassar. She actively worked against the gymnasts who spoke up against the widespread abuse throughout the organization. 

Yep. that's the issue; Mary Lou publicly defended the Karolyi's and claimed they had no idea Nassar was abusing athletes in their gym even after multiple athletes and coaches came forward with evidence that the Karolyi's did, indeed, ignore multiple warnings that something was amiss in the gym.  Not to mention the brutal way they treated the young girls in their care made them particularly vulnerable to grooming by Nassar and Mary Lou defended their methods as not problematic and even claimed that the girls who came forward with stories were disgruntled and not telling the truth.

Mary Lou and her daughters were also less than honest as to why she didn't have health insurance.  They said that, in the wake of upheaval of her divorce as well as due to her pre-existing medical conditions (multiple orthopedic procedures), she couldn't afford the premiums.  A couple problems with that are that she and her ex split their money 50:50 (he's a successful real estate developer) and she got over $2 million.  They also owned 2 homes which were sold and the profits split and she got around a million when someone took a look at the deals.  She also filed suit against the manufacturer of her first 2 replacement hips which she claimed were defective and caused further damage and pain and received a confidential settlement in excess of at least $200,000 right after the divorce.

BTW, she initially appeared in ads for the hip manufacturer who paid her for that work.  A couple years later, when she broke ties and filed suit, a couple of other people who'd had problems with the hip and were suing requested her testimony on their behalf.  She declined, claiming it would tarnish her 'brand' and lead to economic hardship for her.  Each of the plaintiffs eventually received more than $2mil, BTW, so she probably got at least that much.

Finally, there's the 'pre-existing condition' making insurance unaffordable for her.  Except the Affordable Care Act, ie Obamacare prevents insurers from hiking prices due to previous medical history.

So, the whole "I didn't have health insurance" story is fishy.

The Go Fund Me, originally set $50,000 as the goal and raised about $500,000.  The daughters said any excess would be donated to charity.  No word on how the money was used.

[proserpina65]

On 5/31/2025 at 12:49 AM, andromeda331 said:

I remember when she defended USA gymnastics and the Karolyis when the abuse came out. I loved her until that point. It was devastating to hear her say that.

Anyone who defended the Karolyis gets an automatic side-eye from me.  They were held up as the epitome of what gymnastics coaching should be when in actuality they did untold irreparable damage to those who trained with them, both physically and emotionally.

[andromeda331]

10 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Anyone who defended the Karolyis gets an automatic side-eye from me.  They were held up as the epitome of what gymnastics coaching should be when in actuality they did untold irreparable damage to those who trained with them, both physically and emotionally.

I used to because they were the best and I didn't know about the horrible way they trained gymnasts. Now that I do I side-eye anyone who defends them. I find it hard to believe the gymnasts they trained didn't know not even Mary Lou even if it wasn't until they were older and recognized it was abusice. Anyone else who still defends them after the accusations came out from so many gymnasts.

And there's no way they didn't know about the abuse. How hard would it have been to call the cops on the doctor and find a new one that didn't abuse? Not hard at all.

[Bastet]

I remember the reaction in the Athlete A forum (about a documentary I recommend to all, about the widespread abuse in U.S. women's gymnastics, of which Nassar was only one particularly horrible chapter) when posters mentioned Retton's post-documentary actions lobbying Congress to drop a bill requiring Olympic governing bodies and other amateur sports organizations to report allegations of sexual abuse; that was met with "Wait, that can't be right" reaction, thinking there had to be a word missing that left the mistaken impression Retton had said the opposite of X, Y, and Z as posters thought/hoped she'd say.  Nope, she said it. 

[proserpina65]

9 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I used to because they were the best and I didn't know about the horrible way they trained gymnasts. Now that I do I side-eye anyone who defends them. I find it hard to believe the gymnasts they trained didn't know not even Mary Lou even if it wasn't until they were older and recognized it was abusice. Anyone else who still defends them after the accusations came out from so many gymnasts.

And there's no way they didn't know about the abuse. How hard would it have been to call the cops on the doctor and find a new one that didn't abuse? Not hard at all.

Okay, I just want to clarify: I meant people involved with them and USA Gymnastics, not those who formed opinions by watching gymnastics.  

I didn't mean to make anyone not involved in USA Gymnastics' programs feel like they needed to defend their previous opinions. 

[Crashcourse]

I never understood why there wasn't a female doctor tending to the female gymnasts. 

[Salacious Kitty]

Good point. The Karolyis didn't even train boys/men.