The shining stones in Nike’s crown have always been the litany of elite athletes they sponsor, and Simone Biles is undoubtedly one of the company’s brightest stars. But not anymore! Biles has ended her relationship with Nike and, according to the Wall Street Journal, will be creating a new apparel line with Athleta. While Athleta doesn’t have the same reach or cache as Nike, Biles says that the partnership was about more than securing another hefty bag. “I feel like they also support me, not just as an athlete, but just as an individual outside of the gym and the change that I want to create, which is so refreshing,” she told WSJ.
The major shift from Nike to Athleta will be Biles’s target audience. Athleta, founded by Gap Inc. produces activewear mostly for women, while Nike has a great focus on men with womenswear seemingly created as an afterthought. This has improved over the years as more elite women athletes have criticized Nike’s practices, but for the most part, Nike serves male athletes. This shift is apparently what drew Biles to the smaller company.
Athleta will reportedly be giving Biles more of a platform to have “honest conversations” with women and girls about topics she cares about. While Biles didn’t mention if she’d been stifled by Nike in trying to have those conversations, she did throw some incredibly subtle shade, telling WSJ, “I also feel like Athleta is committed to diversity and inclusion, of all women, backgrounds, ages, sizes, abilities, and races.” There is no date yet as to when Biles’s line will hit stores but if Athleta is taking design suggestions, then mine is that Simone Biles should get her own logo on all of the clothes and it should be comprised of all of her medals. I’m sure there’s a way to make them all fit. [Wall Street Journal]
Last month, Justin Bieber was spotted visiting California State Prison for reasons that were unclear but presumably related to missionary work, considering the Biebs was with his pastor. Now, conveniently, there’s video and photos of Bieber’s time at the prison, and the original presumption was correct. Justin Bieber was spreading the good gospel of the Lord by singing some of his songs for inmates and participating in a prayer circle. Bieber’s acoustic set was followed by a sermon from his pastor who is, hopefully, a little more put together than the last one. [TMZ]
The fro-yo Demi Lovato drama is somehow still happening! According to TMZ, images and comments were circulating on Instagram that claimed Lovato had sent a $10,000 donation to the store in question, and that she sent a handwritten apology note after she walked back some of her claims that the store was actively promoting diet culture. However, The Bigg Chill claims that these images are photoshopped. Not only have they not received any sort of donation from Lovato, but they also say they don’t want one. They also say they haven’t heard from her since the “apology” video, despite the fact that Lovato said multiple times she wanted to work with the venue to change the language on their menu to be more sensitive to people struggling with eating disorders. The Bigg Chill says they have not made any changes to their menu at this point. [TMZ]
- Jersey Shore star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro was arrested for “felony domestic violence” on Thursday and is currently out on bail. [TMZ]
- Kehlani is fully out as a lesbian and if she’s bored my number is 71…[TMZ]
- Oscar De La Hoya is sorry for something but I need him to be sorry for the amount of bad botox he’s gotten done. [TMZ]
- Shock G, founder of Digital Underground, has died. [Pitchfork]
- BTS will be the new brand ambassadors for Louis Vuitton. [Twitter]