Clips of the floor routine of UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis went viral on social media. Among those who viewed the routine, the clip managed to capture the attention of former first lady Michelle Obama, who had nothing but praise for the gymnast.
The clips of Dennis’s floor routine during a competition over the weekend went viral on social media and the former first lady shared a video of the routine on Twitter. Mrs. Obama then went on to praise Dennis’s skills in her tweet, to which Dennis thanked the former first lady for her words. The gymnast’s routine received a score of 9.950 out of 10 points and resulted in a win for her school against Arizona State University.
“Now that’s what I call fierce! You’re a star, @DennisNia !” tweeted the former first lady.
Mrs. Obama is not the only public figure who noticed her skills either. Common, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, and Kerry Washington also took notice of the clip and praised the gymnast. Dennis explained that her floor routine was to celebrate Black culture and included music from Elliott, Tupac, and Kendrick Lamar. The gymnast took inspiration from the Black Lives Matter protests last year.
“Every single song is a major Black artist, musician, from different time periods,” said Dennis in an interview with The Lily that was published this week. “They had a huge impact on Black culture, which has also had a huge impact on me. So I’m just literally celebrating what they’ve done and having the time of my life.”
Michelle was among the first ladies that were present during the inauguration of Joe Biden last week. Amanda Gorman, who recited the powerful poem at the inauguration, shared during her appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show what she overheard the former first lady telling her husband, former President Barack Obama.
Gorman shared that she overheard Michelle tell her husband not to get too close and not to hug people, reminding the former president that they were still in the middle of the pandemic. The inauguration this year was scaled down due to health and safety concerns and as a result, viewing of the inauguration events outside of the oathtaking went digital instead.