Olivia “Livvy” Dunne encountered a terrifying experience recently at the airport. The LSU gymnastics alum recounted the experience in a video on TikTok as she shared that middle-aged men were waiting for her as she got off her plane so that they could get an autograph from her.
“There’s a group of autograph seekers who are able to know private flight information,” Dunne said in a statement Saturday to NBC News. “I am not the only female athlete who experiences this. It’s scary because they simply don’t take no for an answer.”
@livvy They know time, place, airport, everything!!! Stay safe
She shared in the video that the men wait for her plane to land with a stack of photos and magazine covers of her waiting for them to sign it. The athlete says that the men will harass her by yelling at her in the TSA PreCheck line if she doesn't sign the photos. She said that they have even bothered her on family vacations. The Sports Illustrated cover star included a short video of herself getting emotional after being harassed by the men when she was leaving the airport after a red-eye flight.
Gabby Thomas and Coco Gauff Also Share Frightening Flight Stories
Dunne said that this has not only happened to her but to other female athletes like Gabby Thomas.
Like Dunne, the Olympic gold medalist has also spoken out about the harassment she has faced as she travels.
Article Continues Below@itsgabbythomas They know the airport, day, time, gate, everything!!! Who do I report them to?? #fyp
“It doesn't matter what city,” Thomas said in the above TikTok video. “They've come when I was traveling to and from Chicago, they've come when I'm traveling to and from Miami. And they have my flight information.”
“What scares me is that they have my flight information even when I don't even know what time I'm flying out sometimes — I don't tell anyone my flight information,” Thomas continued.
Pro tennis player Coco Gauff also reiterated the same message as Dunne and Thomas.
“This happens to me too, I don't know how it happens,” Gauff wrote in the comment section. “My theory is maybe someone at the airport tips them off.”
Dunne ended her video urging her female followers to stay safe as they travel.