Countryfile’s Matt Baker has caused a stir on social media following his remarks about Olympic icon Simone Biles.
The 46-year-old telly favourite weighed in on the 27-year-old gymnast’s miss of a gold medal after a slip-up on the balance beam. At the time, he said: “Well, it just wasn’t to be! C’est la vie for Simone on beam.”
He then paused his BBC commentary to reflect on Simone’s own words, saying: “She’s talking about the atmosphere, she’s talking about people shushing – we’ve talked about it and the atmosphere in here is like a cauldron when those gymnasts are on.”
He went on to suggest that the audience might have played a part in her not clinching another gold, implying that the pressure from the spectators could have contributed to her mistakes, reports the Mirror.
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
But after the comments, irate viewers took to Twitter, blasting: “#BBCOlympics gymnastic commentators losing their s**t about Simone Biles having cameras thrust in her face after she fell off the beam is ridiculously ironic seeing as they have basically made the entire Olympics about her and screamed like groupies at every single move she’s made.”
One viewer also noted the irony, writing: “There’s a certain irony in the #BBCOlympics gymnastics commentators complaining about the media attention on Simone Biles. When she has been their sole topic of conversation throughout these #OlympicGames.”
In other news, Matt, who was a former gymnast -recently opened up about his back injury, saying: “No, I can’t now. I’ve injured my back. This is midlife – talking about your aches and pains!”
(Image: DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
He continued: “I did my back in. I was doing a panto. I was doing Goldilocks and the Three Bears and we were practising with the stunt chairs, and the chair wasn’t set correctly and bang! I went down on my coccyx and it turns out I slipped a disc in my back.”
The presenter had previously been at death’s door when he explained about his condition which left him in “absolute agony.” The condition required medical attention and left the star bedridden with a herniated disc.
(Image: ITV/REX)
At the time, he shared: “Hi All, Any advice for a herniated disc…? For a long time now I’ve been dealing with a herniated disc- as an ex gymnast it’s hard not to be able to bend forward… so I decided to have a nerve block injection – what a brilliant Surgeon and lovely NHS team it was that did my treatment Thank you all!.
“(Also a big thanks to the nurse who used to watch me on Blue Peter – the buttered toast was amazing!). Big thanks also to my friends at Champneys for helping me with my rehab it’s a very special place. If you know of any good exercises or helpful tips I’d love to hear them.. @nhsengland @Champneysspas #backpainrelief #training.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
