Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee revealed she and her friends were the victims of a racist attack in California in early November.  

In an interview with Pop Sugar, the 18-year-old gymnast detailed her experience. While she and her friends, who were all of Asian descent, were waiting for an Uber in Los Angeles, a group sped by in a car. Lee told the publication they were yelling racist slurs and telling the girls to “go back where they came from.”  

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According to Lee, one passenger in the car then pepper-sprayed her on the arm before speeding off. “I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off,” she said. “I didn’t do anything to them, and having the reputation, it’s so hard because I didn’t want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen.”  

Hate crimes and violence targeting Asian Americans have been on the rise due to misinformation about the origins of COVID-19. A national report released by the group Stop AAPI hate revealed more than 9,000 reported incidents of hate towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States from March 2020 to June 2021. 

Those reported incidents included verbal harassment, shunning, physical assault, civil rights violations, workplace discrimination and online harassment. According to the group, hate incidents reported by women make up more than 60% of the reports.  

Lee is a two-time Olympic medalist winning gold and silver at the Tokyo Olympics. She is also a contestant in the semi-finals on Dancing With the Stars.