26 July 2023 , 22:43
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Olivia Dunne has revealed she is now unable to attend her college lectures due to "safety reasons."
The LSU gymnast has become a viral sensation in recent years, with her fame only growing over the past few months to the point that fans have begun to show up at her college performances.
Speaking to fashion magazine Elle in a profile piece, she said: "There were some scares in the past, and I just want to be as careful as possible. I don’t want people to know my daily schedule and where I am."
During the first gymnastic meet of the season earlier this year, the prestigious school had to hire security for Dunne with hundreds of young men in attendance.
Dunne said: "It was our first meet of the season. I knew that my success had grown from the years prior, but I did not expect there to be that many people out there to see me and my team.
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"I didn't really realize until after the meet when I saw the videos of it. I was like, 'Holy moly.'"
Groups of boys were seen asking for Dunne to come over for a photograph, with officials at the meet having to move the LSU team bus to avoid them. Other gymnasts were also guided back to their vehicles by police.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 06: Olivia Dunne of LSU looks on after a PAC-12 meet against Utah at Jon M. Huntsman Center on January 06, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)One mother claimed that her gymnast daughter was swarmed by a group of teenage boys, who had been waiting for Dunne. They said to the gymnast: "You're not Livvy, but you will do, can we take a picture?"
Dunne gave a statement at the time, asking for people to show respect to the other gymnasts just looking to perform in their roles.
She said: "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 has become a millionaire after using her name, image and likeness (NIL) to power a lucrative career as an influencer - now amassing over 7 million followers on TikTok as well as 4.2 million on Instagram.
She was believed to have made $3.2 million (£2.5m) throughout college so far, being the highest-paid college athlete behind LeBron James' son Bronny.