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Suni Lee sticks the landing — again. The gymnast is shutting down the critics who came for her following her historic Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show debut. The six-time Olympic medalist, 22, took to TikTok over the weekend to address trolls who mocked her height and questioned her casting in the lingerie giant’s rebooted runway show, posting a cheeky video set to Grande’s bop “successful” with the caption: “Can u guys stop bullying me.” In the video, Lee lip-syncs the lyrics, “It feels so good to be so young / And have this fun and be successful, yeah / I’m so successful,” while posing in front of a mirror, her hair blown out and makeup expertly done. The gymnast made history on Oct. 15 as one of the first professional athletes to walk the iconic runway during the show’s Brooklyn waterfront spectacular, strutting her stuff in a sporty Pink ensemble complete with miniature angel wings sewn into her pink zip-up hoodie. But her spotlight moment was quickly met with backlash from a handful of keyboard warriors who targeted her 5-foot stature and questioned whether athletes belong on fashion runways alongside “real models.” “they’re mad jealous because a 5 foot badie [sic] got to be a VS model,” one fan clapped back in Lee’s defense, while another added: “were any of the haters on the runway? didn’t think so.” Professional model Avary Hutzelman sparked particular controversy with a viral TikTok rant, comparing the casting to “letting a model play in the WNBA championship” and slamming what she called “inclusivity bullsh*t.” But Lee’s supporters weren’t having it. “girl i got your back. why are people bullying you because of your height💔like u cant control that bro😭🙏,” wrote one commenter, to which Lee responded “Like, literally.” Another fan got analytical about the show’s strategy: “I’m so tired of the ‘omg we want ACTUAL models not athletes and influencers,'” they wrote. “Notice how they modeled for PINK. Because PINK is catered to teens, teens are in sports and look up to girls like Suni and Angel, teens are on social media and love influencers like Quen.” Lee walked alongside fellow athlete Angel Reese of the WNBA and influencer Quenlin Blackwell in the Pink segment.
