Melissa Rivers Defends Simone Biles’ Husband Jonathan Owens After Medal Backlash: ‘Silly’

Simone Biles ’ husband, Jonathan Owens , faced backlash for wearing her gold medal after her victory at the Olympics in Paris. However, Melissa Rivers exclusively tells Life & Style that their critics are overreacting.

“What's the difference between him wearing it and putting it around your parents' neck?” Melissa, 56, tells Life & Style while discussing the fashion at the 2024 Olympic games, which concluded on August 11.

After Jonthan traveled to Paris to cheer on Simone, 27, and Team USA, he took to Instagram to congratulate her after they won the women’s team finals. “Witnessing history every time you step on the mat,” he captioned a series of photos with Simone on July 30, which captured him wearing her medal. “Congrats baby on becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history!!!! Just wow!!!! 8 of them!!!!! So thankful I was there to see it.”

Shortly after the Chicago Bears athlete shared the photos, a handful of critics expressed their disapproval in the comments section. “Why he holding it like he won it,” one person commented. Another chimed in, “I’m annoyed that he’s holding it like bfffr it’s not YOURS.”

While many fans took the opportunity to slam Jonathan for wearing her medal, Melissa insists that social media users didn’t have a valid reason to be so upset. She even argued that having Jonathan wear the medal is the same thing as letting her family members – including her parents and siblings – wear it.

Melissa adds that Jonathan has been a great support system for Simone during her latest turn at the Olympics. The latest set of games was especially memorable for the gymnast, who previously suffered from the twisties during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo .

“We all know what she's gone through,” Melissa points out, acknowledging that Simone has been open about her struggles with mental health. “Clearly he has been a huge part of her support system and getting back to where she is, you know, the backlash is silly.”

She continues, “Are we gonna do the backlash every time someone puts their medal around their mom's neck?”

Melissa then admits that she thinks Simone and Jonathan’s critics are “looking for something” to be upset about .

Similar to Melissa, Simone also made it clear that she thought the backlash was out of control . “Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures. So don’t ever make assumptions. Like y’all are so f--king miserable. Leave us alone,” she told social media users in the comments section of an Instagram post.

After Jonathan left Paris to attend training camp, he praised Simone for her performances despite having an injury during the games . “Obviously, the first day when she had the injury to her calf and just her ability to persevere through that and go out there and still dominate is just amazing to watch,” he told reporters during a press conference on August 6. “My wife is a warrior. That’s the one thing I tell people because I equate it to how we are in football.”