Simone Biles will ‘always’ support LGBTQ community after campaign hate
The Olympic gold medalist appears in the Uber Eats 'Tonight I'll Be Eating' campaign alongside ‘Queer Eye’ star Jonathan Van Ness
Simone Biles has clapped back at the haters of her new Uber Eats ads featuring Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness.
The Olympic gold medalist appears in the “Tonight I’ll Be Eating” campaign alongside the reality TV star, who shows off his gymnast talents in the promos. The duo even wear matching leotards.
“Anything Simone Biles can do, Jonathan Van Ness can do … in his own, amazing way,” the tagline on the ad reads.
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In response, conservative Christian group One Million Moms launched a petition to end the campaign for “pushing the LGBTQ agenda” and “attempting to brainwash viewers,” PEOPLE reports. They also blast Van Ness, who identifies as non-binary, for being a “crossdresser.”
“In one commercial, she gives him a strange look and tells him he can keep her leotard because she doesn’t want it back now that he has worn it. In the other commercial, she asks him if he wants to split her food order by saying, “Splitsies?” Confused by her request, he does the actual splits instead,” the petition reads.
“Casting a cross-dresser in its ads screams liberal agenda and turns off potential Uber Eats customers,” the statement continues.
“Instead of making audiences lose their appetite by glamorizing a LGBTQ lifestyle, Uber Eats should focus on what it does and remain neutral on controversial issues,” the petition goes on to state. Adding, “For anyone curious or struggling with his or her sexual identity, watching someone prance around in the opposite sex’s clothing is not the answer.”
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On Monday, Biles, 23, responded to the petition, writing, “the world we live in makes me sad, but I’d do x1000000 more commercials with you just to p— everyone off!”
She made clear that the “LGBTQIA will always have my support and feel welcome on my socials,” she she wrote in a post on Twitter.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Uber responded to the backlash by noting, “At Uber Eats, we’re unapologetically committed to representing the flavor spectrum. From tacos to talent, we like it spicy.”
Adding, “JVN and Simone serve gymnastic prowess and ferosh self-confidence, qualities millions of moms everywhere can—and do—support.”
As of Thursday, the petition has over 7,000 signers.
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