The name McKayla Maroney might not ring a bell, but the meme of her sulking at the 2012 Summer Olympics made her one of, if not the most famous face of the games.
These days Maroney, now 20, has put her gymnastics career behind her and is working on a singing career.
She’s also busy denying Internet rumors that she has lip fillers to plump up her thin lips.
Maroney says if her lips look any different it’s because she’s gotten better at contouring her face — or something like that.
“One of my best friends, Alexa Losey, is a YouTuber. She got me into the makeup and all the tutorials,” Maroney told Seventeen magazine. “And she overlines her lips. People are used to her doing that, and they’re not used to me doing that, so when I started, they freaked out.”
Maroney said people on social media hurt her feelings and made her feel insecure.
“Growing up in the social media world, it’s tough. Your face changes, you get older, your face fills out, and you fall into liking makeup and different stuff like that. And for people saying that, for the most part—it would kind of hurt my feelings when you haven’t done anything.”
Despite her denials, the rumors persist. But Maroney is excited about her future. She has figured out how to take the hate and use it to generate free press.
“I can’t blame anybody for saying, ‘Oh, she changed!’ You know, because I have. And that’s OK,” Maroney said. “It’s good to keep evolving and growing. I think most people should be accepting with stuff like that, but you know, you can’t force anybody into feeling a certain way. So for anybody who’s judging it and not liking it, that’s fine. Unfollow me. I don’t really care.”
