Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Cawthorn Dragged For Absurdly Accusing U.S.-Born Olympians Of Switching Teams After Arriving In Beijing

Cawthorn Dragged For Absurdly Accusing U.S.-Born Olympians Of Switching Teams After Arriving In Beijing
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Cui Nan/China News Service via Getty Images
American-born Chinese skater Zhu Yi faced massive scrutiny after she stumbled twice and failed to land a jump during her free skate performance in the women's short program on Monday at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
But it was her status as an American-born athlete competing for China in the 2022 Olympics that seemed to draw the ire of some on the right, including Republican Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina.

The far-right Congressman, who perhaps is most infamous for his role in former President Donald Trump's rally that incited the January 6 Capitol riot, tweeted:

"If you went to the Olympics to represent America and decided to represent another nation once you arrived there, your citizenship should be revoked."

Ummm...


The piece of the story that Cawthorn missed was that while Yi was born in Los Angeles as Beverly Yi, she renounced her U.S. citizenship in 2018 to compete as Zhu Yi for China in 2022–as China does not allow dual citizenship.

Yi–who is not fluent in Chinese–was one of several foreign-born athletes competing for China at the 2022 Winter Games, including freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who was also born in California.

As if there isn't enough self-imposed pressure and anxiety facing many of the competitors at the Winter Games, social media was especially brutal on Yi after her Olympic debut performance resulted in Team China dropping from third to fifth place in the team competition.

Users took to China's social media platform, Weibo, and shared the hashtag “Zhu Yi Fell Over,” and it was viewed over 230 million times before it was seemingly censored.

Many Weibo users complained that an American-born skater took the place of a competitor who could have been a born native of the host country to compete in Beijing.

But when Cawthorn–who has claimed his preferred pronouns were "MA/GA"–added his own ignorant hot take, it did not go well.











Following the free skating event, Yi told reporters while wiping her tears:

“I’m upset and a little embarrassed. I guess I felt a lot of pressure because I know everybody in China was pretty surprised with the selection for ladies’ singles and I just really wanted to show them what I was able to do but unfortunately I didn’t.”

She added:

"I am relieved because [there is] a lot of pressure and people are expecting a lot. But right now, I'm just going to move on and focus on my individual events."

Yi is focusing ahead as she prepares to compete in the singles competition, which starts on February 15.

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Design For New Commemorative Coin Featuring Trump Just Dropped—And People Can't Believe It's Real

On March 19, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), comprising people appointed by MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, unanimously approved a final design concept proposed for a 24-karat gold United States semiquincentennial commemorative coin.

Instead of featuring the Declaration of Independence or some other images central to the foundation of the nation in 1776 or more universally recognized symbols from the last 250 years, the CFA chose a sketch based on a photo of Trump leaning over the Resolute desk in the Oval Office for the coin's obverse or "heads" side.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; ICE agents at Atlanta airport
Steve Jennings/Getty Images; Megan Varner/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Said What We're All Thinking About Trump's Decision To Deploy ICE To Airports

After President Donald Trump moved to deploy ICE agents to U.S. airports amid a partial government shutdown that has caused exceptionally long delays at TSA lines nationwide, California Governor Gavin Newsom pointed out exactly why the move is so troubling for citizens and non-citizens alike.

ICE agents are still getting paid during the shutdown, unlike TSA agents, who are currently working unpaid and struggling amid the affordability crisis. News outlets have confirmed ICE agents have been deployed in airports that serve Democratic strongholds, particularly John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports (New York), O'Hare International Airport (Chicago), and others.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Ebrahim Zolfaghari; Donald Trump
RpsAgainstTrump/X;

Iranian Military Spokesman Trolls Trump Hard In English With Classic Trump Catchphrase

As the war with Iran enters its fourth week, Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari has gone viral for trolling President Donald Trump in a video with one of Trump's most well-known catchphrases.

The Apprentice was of course the show that made Trump a reality star for quite a few years, where he became known for his catchphrase "You're fired!"

Keep ReadingShow less
Reese Witherspoon
JC Olivera/Variety/Getty Images

Fans Can't Believe How Old Reese Witherspoon Is After She Just Celebrated A Milestone Birthday

Reese Witherspoon just celebrated a milestone birthday, but it wasn't her 30th or even her 40th.

Legally Blonde's Reese Witherspoon just celebrated her 50th birthday, and just like Elle Woods, she's proven yet again that it's "not hard" for her to look fabulous.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chappell Roan (left) and soccer star Jorginho Frello (right) are at the center of a reported security incident involving his 11-year-old stepdaughter in Brazil.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Ruano Carneiro/Getty Images

Chappell Roan Speaks Out After Soccer Star Says Her Security Guard Aggressively Confronted His Young Daughter

Chappell Roan has responded to an alleged altercation between the singer’s security guard and the daughter of soccer star Jorginho Frello.

On Saturday, Frello wrote on Instagram that he, his wife Catherine Harding, and his 11-year-old stepdaughter were staying at a São Paulo hotel ahead of Roan’s headlining performance at Lollapalooza Brazil when the singer, who was also apparently staying there, walked past their table at breakfast.

Keep ReadingShow less