Simone Biles Snaps Back at Smile Comment on Dancing with the Stars

Fashion, Yellow, Outerwear, Adaptation, Event, Smile, Black hair,

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published 10 May 2017

It's no exaggeration that women are often expected to smile—and are actively told to do so, by actual strangers, like the mere fact that our mouths aren't permanently in an upturned position is an insult to all mankind. (See: the negative connotations of "resting bitch face.") But on last night's Dancing with the Stars, Simone Biles shut that shit down.

After her performance with partner Sasha Farber and Brittany Cherry Paso, the Olympic gold medalist was told to be careful not to dance like a "metronome," according to Judge Carrie Ann Inaba. And host Tom Bergeron jumped in by saying, "I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments. You didn't."

To which Biles had the best possible response:

Hair, Forehead, Nose, Chin, Eyebrow, Music artist, Cheek, Singing, Singer, Ear,

Let's say it (type it?) louder for people in the back: SMILING DOESN'T WIN YOU GOLD MEDALS.

Bergeron later tweeted that he loved Biles' response and that he unwittingly added to the "smile pile." So, there's that.

Loved @Simone_Biles crisp response to my clumsy question. Curious how she felt about judges comments, I unwittingly added to the smile pile.May 9, 2017

Two lessons here: 1) please stop telling people (especially women) that they *need* to be smiling and 2) do not come for for Biles unless she sends for you.

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Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.