- LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne is one of the biggest stars in college sports.
- Beyond gymnastics, Dunne has risen to fame with the help of TikTok and Instagram.
LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne is one of the biggest stars in college sports.
Beyond her talent as a gymnast, Dunne has built a social media empire, with millions of followers across platforms like Instagram and TikTok, making her a force in the world of Name, Image, and Likeness rights.
Just a few years ago, college athletes didn't have the opportunity to cash in on their social media presence, but as of 2021, student athletes like Dunne were able to use their online fame to promote relationships with brands and rise to even greater levels of fame.
With 3.7 million followers on Instagram and 7.3 million followers on TikTok, Dunne holds more potential brand value than just about any college basketball player headlining March Madness right now — even more than Miami's Cavinder twins.
But the fame that Dunne has found doesn't come without its drawbacks.
Earlier this year, LSU had to hire security after a group of teenage fans mobbed one of the team's meets.
Further, with her online presence comes online hate and criticism. Dunne opened up about how she deals with the mean comments while speaking with fellow college athletes and influencers, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who both play for Miami's women's college basketball team, on their podcast "Twin Talk" last December.
"With hate and stuff, I know this sounds cliché, but it's literally someone behind a phone screen," Dunne said. "There is no deep thought or meaning behind it. At least that's how I feel."
Dunne added that she leans on her family a lot, especially her sister who also attends LSU.
"Having my sister, she's like my hype man, my teammate. Having a good system, a good group of people behind you that will always have your back," Dunne said. "Family. That's what's most important."
While the online hate is one thing, Dunne said that she has felt some of the criticism spill over into real life as well, even on campus.
"I will not lie, sorority girls don't like me. I don't really do anything, I just kind of mind my own business. I don't really have any in-person classes, so I don't know where they've met me or seen me around, but there's always going to be girls that are going to be petty, frat boys that think they're funny saying terrible things," Dunne said.
"I definitely let that get to me a little bit at the beginning of the school year, I just didn't want that irrelevant hate in my life, but I'm over it at this point. You've just got to choose to ignore it. Because literally they will do it to bring you down a peg, and that's not going to happen."