Even the GOAT Simone Biles is feeling the cost-of-living crisis.
On Wednesday, the Olympian gold medalist posted on TikTok about how expensive it was for her to attend a red carpet, revealing that she paid $23,000 for a stylist, hair, and makeup team for her look. While she did not specify which event cost her the price of a Toyota Prius, she did say that she has been “spiraling since then.”
“I get that prices these days have gone up, but if that’s the new norm, y’all can have it,” she said in the video. “Y’all will never see me at another event. Imma sit my ass right here, where it’s free.”
She specifically called on other celebrities and athletes to answer her pressing question in the comments section. “I see a lot of y’all at events, and there’s no way you guys are paying these prices, each and every time,” she went on. “Some of y’all be outside, for real. But there’s just no way.”
Biles even joked that this particular expense crash-out might even make her come out of retirement. “Let me put that leotard back on — actually, no,” she quickly added.
The TikTok sparked some discourse as fans poked fun at the dilemma in the comments. “idk sista i’m watching from district 12,” one commented. “Simone I love you girl but I’m struggling to pay for gas,” said another. But many others shared their appreciation for Biles’ transparency, saying that they also wanted to know how much celebrities were shelling out for their glam teams.
“Simone this is the tea we need!! I’ve always been curious about this lol,” one said.
And get the tea, they did. Olympic pole vaulter Alysha Newman revealed that she’s been paying aroud $6,000 to $8,000 per event. “I’ve been paying 6-8K per red carpet events! But that’s with a stylist, hair, makeup, driver, and sometimes flights/accommodation,” she wrote.
Fashion creator Madeleine White Fedyk revealed that she no longer works with a team for her red carpet appearances, writing, “I stopped using stylists years ago cuz it’s cheaper to buy a gown I at least get to keep lol… I would expect to pay around 1k each for hair / makeup 🙃.”
Other athletes admitted that they were just as confused as everyone else. “Girl, I’ve been wondering the same,” said Olympic Alpine ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin.
