LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne’s presence in Salt Lake City ignited a scary scene at the Tigers’ season opener against Utah on Friday.
Dunne, who is one of the highest-paid NIL athletes with millions of followers on social media, was greeted by eager fans at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, where a crowd of screaming teenage males stayed after Utah defeated LSU to see Dunne exit the venue.
Former Olympic gymnast Samantha Peszek, who currently works as a Los Angeles-based broadcaster, shared a video of the crowd demanding Dunne’s whereabouts as people left the gymnastics meet.
“This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them…,” Peszek wrote over the clip, which was initially shared on her TikTok account.
“Give us Livvy,” one person can be heard yelling after a “Livvy” chant broke out. “We want Livvy,” others screamed.
Former gymnast Kathy Johnson Clarke, who currently works as a commentator for the SEC Network, replied to Peszek’s tweet, writing, “I was walking out just behind you, Sam, and they were screaming to me, ‘Are you Livvy’s mom? Are you Livvy’s mom?’ Very disturbing. Creepy, actually.”
In a separate tweet responding to someone that said the fans waiting for Dunne didn’t even attend the meet, Clarke wrote: “I know they weren’t Utah or gymnastics fans. Many of them were in the arena, though, and didn’t know how to conduct themselves. They are young and got carried away. Hopefully, they’ll do as Livvy has asked now and be respectful of all the gymnasts if they attend a meet.”
There was a line of teenage boys outside of the Huntsman Center asking about Dunne, according to Josh Furlong of KSL.com Sports, who also tweeted, “LSU had to move its team bus so they didn’t have to run into the group of boys. There were cops stationed in front to avoid them getting in.”
Dunne was seen snapping selfies with fans that remained in the stands at the Huntsman Center after the meet. Some fans held signs begging Dunne for a photo and a follow-back on social media.
“My New Year’s resolution is to get a pic with Livvy,” one sign read, while another included a “birthday wishlist” of three things: “1. Get a pic with Livvy. 2. Have Livvy in my BeReal. 3. Get a follow back.”
There was also a cardboard cutout in the stands of Dunne from the 2022 ESPY Awards.
Following the LSU-Utah meet, Dunne — who reportedly was not in the lineup on Friday — took to Twitter to address the behavior from fans.
“I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job,” Dunne tweeted Sunday.
Dunne — who has over nine million followers between her Instagram and TikTok platforms — ranks at the top of On3 Sports’ list of female NIL moneymakers, which estimated her value at $2.3 million in October.
The Hillsdale, N.J., native became a millionaire at the age of 18 with help from her massive social media following and skills as an all-around gymnast with the LSU Tigers.
Dunne signed with WME Sports for representation in August 2021 and has deals with a number of brands, including Vuori clothing, College GameDay, GrubHub, Madden/EA Sports, and American Eagle.
The Tigers continue their road trip with a meet at Kentucky on Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
