Katelyn Ohashi Acceptance Speech at the 2019 ESPYs Video
Katelyn Ohashi's ESPYs Acceptance Speech Not Only Rhymed, but It Left Us Shook
Speak on it, @katelyn_ohashi 👏 pic.twitter.com/uydZMV4tSq
— ESPN (@espn) July 11, 2019
Katelyn Ohashi's gymnastics routine isn't the only thing going viral. On Wednesday night, the 22-year-old UCLA gymnast received the ESPY Award for Best Play and her acceptance speech deserved a perfect 10. Katelyn started by speaking about her hugely popular routines, and transitioned into the gut-wrenching sexual abuse scandal involving the USA Gymnastics team and doctor Larry Nassar. Not only did her speech rhyme the entire time, but she grappled with these emotional conversations gracefully.
"I started seeing myself in the news trying to infuse a little bit of joy in my sport after all the abuse and misuse of people in higher power," she said. "It's no wonder why our voices went silent as theirs would just tower. But today, mine no longer cowers."
She slammed body-shamers and the negative feedback she received about her appearance when everyone should've been praising her impressive skills. "Thankful for the internet that made this all happen, but along with that it's important to understand cyber attacks, the respect that people unfortunately lack," Katelyn said. "As a female in sport, people comment things like, 'You should be in the kitchen,' I sadly report. The skimpy leos made it easy for everyone to see, and everyone took it as a duty to judge me. Too revealing. Too fat. She's so thick. The objectification of our bodies is making me sick."
Check out Katelyn's mic-drop of a speech above and see photos of the superstar at the 2019 ESPYs ahead.
Katelyn Ohashi's Acceptance Speech at the 2019 ESPYs
Katelyn Ohashi at the 2019 ESPYs
Katelyn Ohashi at the 2019 ESPYs
Katelyn Ohashi at the 2019 ESPYs
