After winning the all-around gold medal at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships—her sixth all-around world title—Simone Biles just became the most decorated gymnast in history.
In an article celebrating the legendary gymnast's historic feat, however, the Wall Street Journal used an image of a different gymnast.
@WSJ/Twitter
And Biles herself called them out.
The six-time world champ tweeted:
"This picture isn't even me..."
"Try again."
Some people on social media applauded Biles for calling out the publication.
@Simone_Biles go off queen, as you should \ud83d\ude24— lauren \u2661 (@lauren \u2661) 1696837778
@Simone_Biles Thanks for calling them out. \n\nAnd I don\u2019t believe for ONE SECOND this was a mistake. It was intentional, because that\u2019s how they are.— g robinson (@g robinson) 1696842847
Some others condemned the WSJ for misidentifying a person of color, which happens far too often in the media.
@Simone_Biles Wow. 30 seconds of research shows this is Shilese Jones. You can't expect much from @WSJ \n@louiseradnofsky did you see the photo added to your article?— KD (@KD) 1696836681
@WSJ - seriously? \nTHUMP on your racist heads-\ud83d\ude4cthey \ud83d\ude4cdo\ud83d\ude4cnot\ud83d\udc4dall\ud83d\ude4clook\ud83d\ude4calike\ud83d\ude4c!!\n(Not even the same body type! )\nSo very sorry, @Simone_Biles - you deserve better!— Lerrin Lottinville \ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf77\ud83c\udf40\ud83e\udd85 (@Lerrin Lottinville \ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf77\ud83c\udf40\ud83e\udd85) 1696907937
@Simone_Biles wsj didnt know there were other black gymnasts \ud83d\ude2d— Teg (@Teg) 1696836476
@Fly_Sistah @Deoliver47 @Simone_Biles @WSJ @louiseradnofsky It is so wrong, lazy, & disrespectful to Simon Biles, his literally the greatest female gymnast of all times. \ud83e\udd2c @WSJ you need to apologize NOW. https://t.co/dhKWWExBK0— CaliforniaActivistNurse (@CaliforniaActivistNurse) 1696839810
@Simone_Biles @WSJ This is really rather poor. One of the world's greatest sporting icons, just happens to be American, and you, an American newspaper, can't even stretch to using the correct picture of her, at one of her greatest triumphs. What does one call that...— Vincent Gasana (@Vincent Gasana) 1696843195
@Simone_Biles Wow @WSJ. Any Black woman will do? We do not all look alike. Do better! You\u2019re so embarrassing \ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2640\ufe0f— 3ChicsPolitico (@3ChicsPolitico) 1696835668
@Simone_Biles Meanwhile at the @WSJ \n\n"Just use that picture of that black gymnast!"\n\n"But sir, the one I have isn't her."\n\n"No one will notice. Just run it!"— Richard - TCGView.com (@Richard - TCGView.com) 1696844947
@Simone_Biles I guess all black gymnasts with 37 medals all look alike??— Tom Alloway (@Tom Alloway) 1696890047
And more were infuriated that the WSJ didn't even offer an apology.
@WSJ @Simone_Biles Not even "we regret the error", let alone a real apology? Do you even pretend to have integrity?— Aaron Zerhusen (@Aaron Zerhusen) 1696862481
@Simone_Biles And they can\u2019t even just say sorry. Just own it and apologize. Sorry Simone— Mark Stone (@Mark Stone) 1696888486
@WSJ @Simone_Biles An apology would be polite\u2026.— Max (@Max) 1696861557
The Wall Street Journal did update their tweet to reflect their error, noting:
"The photo in an earlier post, now deleted, misidentified a gymnast as Simone Biles."
With 37 world and Olympic medals now, Simone Biles added to her extraordinary legacy at the world championships in Belgium (the photo in an earlier post, now deleted, misidentified a gymnast as Simone Biles) https://t.co/vjWMZVLQGi— The Wall Street Journal (@The Wall Street Journal) 1696845948
And they also, eventually, updated the photo.
With 37 world and Olympic medals now, Simone Biles added to her extraordinary legacy at the world championships in Belgium https://t.co/ZPHT23DPEA https://t.co/ZPHT23DPEA— The Wall Street Journal (@The Wall Street Journal) 1696784067
But, as of this writing, there has been no apology.