Suni Lee, an American gymnast, and Olympic gold medalist, claims she was pepper-sprayed while standing on a street corner with friends in Los Angeles last month.
In an interview with PopSugar, Lee, who is of Hmong descent, says she was waiting for an Uber with a group of friends who were also of Asian descent. Before the ride came, however, Lee claims a car full of people drove up and began shouting racial slurs.
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 03: Sunisa Lee of Team United States competes during the Women’s Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Lee claims one of the people in the car sprayed her arm with pepper spray.
“I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off,” Lee told PopSugar. “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.”
Bronze medallist USA’s Sunisa Lee poses on the podium of the artistic gymnastics women’s uneven bars final of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on August 1, 2021. (Photo by Jeff PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
Lee, 18, is from Minnesota and won gold in the individual all-around at the Olympics. She is also a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.