Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee was the target of racist attacks after she and her boyfriend Jaylin Smith went "social media official" over the holidays.
On Dec. 26, Lee, now a freshman at Auburn University, posted pictures of herself lovingly embracing Smith on Instagram, captioning the photo with a single white heart emoji.
But commenters part of the Hmong American community voiced their disapproval of Lee's relationship with the USC Trojan football player, PopSugar reports.
Lee commented on a TikTok video by user alixphom who expressed their support for the Olympian after she faced backlash from the Hmong American community for dating a Black man.
@alixphom I know that Sunisa will be judged by certain eyes in the Hmong Community because her man is Black. LOVE is LOVE, no matter what race or gender you are. Keep doing you QUEEN ✨ ##hmong
##hmongtiktok
##hmonggirl
##hmongsong
##hmongcheck
##hmongfyp
##fyp
##foryou
##foryourpage
"I know that Sunisa will be judged by certain eyes in the Hmong American Community because her man is Black. LOVE is LOVE, no matter what race or gender you are. Keep doing you QUEEN," alixphom wrote.
"This makes me so happy. I've received so much hate. They support me when it's beneficial for them, never when it comes to my happiness. Thank you!" Lee responded.
In 2021, the star athlete found herself the target of another racist attack when a car drove past her and a group of friends in Los Angeles, PopSugar reports. The people inside of the car hurled racial slurs and told them to "go back to where they came from." Lee also said that one of the passengers pepper-sprayed her.
"I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off. I didn't do anything to them, and having the reputation, it's so hard because I didn't want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen," Lee said.
