Gabby Douglas (left) said she was victim of Larry Nassar’s abuse days after former teammate Aly Raisman (right) alleged Nassar assaulted her. The athletes are shown together at an event in Brazil in 2016
American gymnast Gabby Douglas apologized once more and opened up on her own experiences with sexual abuse after being slammed for victim shaming.
On Tuesday, Douglas retracted remarks again which suggested women hold a responsibility to dress ‘modestly’ and act ‘classy’ following bombshell allegations from her former teammate, Aly Raisman, against the team’s ex-doctor, Larry Nassar.
Now, Douglas has come forward claiming there is more to Raisman’s story – while revealing she, too, was one of Nassar’s victims.
‘I didn’t publicly share my experiences as well as many other things because for years we were conditioned to stay silent and honestly, some things were extremely painful,’ the Olympian, 21, wrote in the social media statement.
‘It would be like saying that because of the leotards we wore, it was our fault that we were abused by Larry Nassar.
In the ‘please hear my heart’ post, Douglas further went on to share her support for Raisman, 23, and well as other fellow Fab Five stars, including McKayla Maroney, 21, who also claimed to be a victim.
‘I didn’t view my comments as victim shaming because I know that no matter what you wear, it NEVER gives anyone the right to harass or abuse you.
‘I wholeheartedly support my teammates for coming forward with what happened to them,’ Douglas added.
On Tuesday, Douglas retracted remarks again suggesting women hold responsibility to dress ‘modestly’ and act ‘classy’. Douglas is pictured last month at The Women’s Sports Foundation’s 38th Annual Salute To Women in Sports Awards Gala in New York City
‘I didn’t publicly share my experiences as well as many other things because for years we were conditioned to stay silent and some things were extremely painful,’ the Olympian said
On Friday, Douglas took to Twitter Douglas took to Twitter to share her thoughts on Raisman’s allegations.
She was responding to the lengthy post by Raisman earlier in the day, which read in part: ‘Just because a woman does a sexy photoshoot or wears a sexy outfit does not give a man the right to shame her or not believe her when she comes forward about sexual abuse.’
Douglas responded: ‘However it is our responsibility as women to dress modestly and be classy. Dressing in a provocative/sexual way entices the wrong crowd.’
Another member of the famed quintuple, Simone Biles, 20, then lambasted Douglas for her irresponsible comments amid the slew of sexual harassment and abuse scandals.
Gabby Douglas, 21, (left) took to Twitter on Friday to share her controversial view, in response to Aly Raisman’s (right) claims that she was sexually abused by the former team doctor
Raisman’s comment on ‘victim shaming’ is seen left and Douglas’ controversial reply right
‘Shocks me that I’m seeing this but it doesn’t surprise me… honestly seeing this brings me to tears bc as your teammate I expected more from you & to support her,’ Biles wrote.
Douglas deleted the offending tweet and quickly sent out an apology: ‘I didn’t correctly word my reply & i am deeply sorry for coming off like i don’t stand alongside my teammates.,’ she said.
‘Regardless of what you wear, abuse under any circumstance is never acceptable. i am WITH you. #metoo’
The Twitter spat came days after news surfaced that Dr. Nassar was expecting to change his not-guilty plea.
The expected change was a bid to close the state’s criminal cases against him after he was accused of molesting girls under the guise of medical treatment at his home, a campus clinic as well as a youth gymnastics club.
In her book, Fierce, Raisman writes that the abuse first began when she was 15 while practicing through her pain in Australia before one of her meets.
Fellow teammate Simone Biles (right) stuck up for her friend and teammate Raisman (left). The two are seen together at the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards in June
Biles was quick to criticize Douglas’ remarks last week on Twitter, and showed her support to sexual abuse victims
Raisman (above competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics) has spoken in the past of being abused by the Team USA doctor
Raisman, the most high-profile victim to come forward with abuse claims again Nassar, won Gold at the 2012 London Olympics (shown above)
A USA Gymnastics official suggested she get treated by Dr. Nassar – who said the registered osteopath, a volunteer with the organization, could help her sore heels and back pain.
‘I didn’t want to be labeled as uncooperative, so finally I said okay,’ Raisman writes in her book.
In her book, Fierce, the Olympic gold medalist details sexual assault allegations against Nassar
She immediately realized something was different than her previous treatments, but said nothing about the matter at the time.
‘There was something about the massage that made me uncomfortable, but the staff member’s words stuck in my head.’
This is the same story many of Nassar’s accusers have told – alleging the doctor would digitally penetrate them anally and vaginally with ungloved hands under the guise of treatment.
Raisman, the most high-profile victim to emerge, has said that she will not go into specific detail about Nassar’s alleged abuse.
She claimed USA Gymnastics stopped her from speaking with the FBI after she tried to seek out the female agent she first spoke with about Nassar – before she realized she was being abused by him.
Raisman, circled bottom left, says she is one of several victims of Nassar, the former Team USA doctor, circled top right. They are seen together at the 2012 Olympics
After her initial interview, Raisman came to realize she herself was a victim, and tried to speak again with that agent.
That’s when USA Gymnastics stepped in, she claims, and stopped her outreach.
‘Shortly after she left, it hit me. And I reached back out to an official with USA Gymnastics and I said, “I have to speak to her again. I was making excuses for him and it’s not right,’ Raisman said on Monday while appearing on Megyn Kelly Today.
‘I was not given a courtesy of speaking with her. And was told to just mind your own business.’
‘Just because a woman does a sexy photoshoot or wears a sexy outfit does not give a man the right to shame her or not believe her when she comes forward about sexual abuse,’ Raisman, 23, added in the post
Dr. Nassar has since denied the allegations by all his accusers.
He is currently behind bars in a Michigan prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography back in July.
Authorities revealed in December 2016 they discovered over 37,000 images and videos of child pornography featuring girls as young as six and a Go Pro video of Nassar molesting a group of young girls in a pool.
Over 130 women have come forward to accuse Nassar.
Many of these women, including Raisman and Maroney, claim they were underage at the time of their first alleged assault.