American-born Chinese Olympic skier Gu Ailin He received widespread attention on social media this week after commenting on President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess.

San Francisco-born Vale is top earner winter olympics It is estimated that revenue from working with Chinese banks and Western companies will reach $23 million by 2025 alone. Gu said she represents the China of her mother, who was born in China.

Gu has never spoken out against China’s alleged human rights abuses, including China’s alleged systematic crackdown on Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

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Chinese gold medalist Gu Ailing celebrates during the 2022 Winter Olympics Women’s Freestyle Skiing Big Jump awards ceremony in Beijing on February 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Natasha Pisarenko)

Gu, however, commented on Trump’s criticism of Hess for expressing “mixed emotions” on behalf of the United States in Cortina, Milan.

“I’m sorry that the title that overshadows the Olympics is so irrelevant to the spirit of the Olympics. It really goes against everything the Olympics should be,” Gu told reporters on Monday.

“The whole point of sports is to bring people together… It’s one of the very few common languages, the language of the human body, the language of the human spirit, the spirit of competition, the ability to not only break records, but especially in our sport, true human limits. How wonderful is that?”

Gu also claimed she herself was “caught in the crossfire.”

“As someone who has been caught in the crossfire, I feel bad for the athletes,” Gu said. “I hope they can perform at their best.”

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Eileen Gu celebrates winning the gold medal during the women’s halfpipe freestyle skiing final at Genting Snow Park at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (Danielle Pahizkaran/USA TODAY Sports)

Gu Kailai’s comments sparked a backlash on social media, with many critics pointing out that Gu Kailai has never spoken out against China’s alleged human rights abuses.

former nba player enes kanter free Slammed Gu in a lengthy X post, calling her a “traitor.”

“Aileen Gu is a traitor. She was born in the United States, raised in the United States, lives in the United States, and chose to fight against her country, China, the worst human rights violator on earth. She made her name in a free country and then chose to represent a dictatorship while making money using the support of watchdog groups associated with mass detention and forced labor camps. When human rights issues arise, she disappears,” Kanter wrote.

“This is not neutrality. This is a choice. She chose to serve a country that is responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people and is now running concentration camps, rather than the country where she was born and gave her opportunities.”

Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, also noted Gu’s silence on China’s alleged persecution of the Uyghurs and political imprisonment of individuals who oppose Xi Jinping.

“Look, there’s nothing wrong with athletes criticizing the president of the United States. It’s not interesting either, because it happens all the time. What’s interesting about this story is… Eileen Koo is an American skier competing for China. There’s no mention of whether China’s genocide of the Uyghurs is “contrary to everything the Olympics should be.” No one is criticizing Xi Jinping for incarcerating Jimmy Lai, Pastor Ezra Kim, Golshan Abbas, or China’s many other political prisoners,” Sobolik wrote on X.

“If you criticize the United States but say nothing about the Chinese Communist Party, that says a lot about you. If you are an American athlete using the freedoms this country gives you to represent a dictatorship, that says even more about you.”

Republican communications expert Matt Whitlock echoed similar criticism of Gu in an X post.

“It’s impossible to imagine a worse voice on this topic than an athlete who gave up his U.S. citizenship for an endorsement deal with the Chinese Communist Party. Does Gu have any criticisms of Xi Jinping’s genocide, enslavement, and arrests of dissidents?” Whitlock wrote.

Several other X users spoke out against Gu.

Trump was one of the most discussed figures at this year’s Winter Olympics, with several athletes, including Hess, making implicit criticisms of his handling of the United States.

In harsh words on social media, Trump called Hess a “real loser.”

“U.S. Olympic skier Hunter Hess is a true loser and says he can’t represent his country at this Winter Olympics,” he wrote.

“If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the team, and it’s too bad he did. It’s hard to root for a guy like that. Make America Great Again!”

Hess initially said of representing the United States, “I think there are mixed emotions that come with representing the United States right now. It’s a little bit difficult. There’s obviously a lot of things that I’m not a favorite about, and I think a lot of people aren’t either.

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China’s Gu Ailing reacts at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina, Milan, Italy. Monday, February 9, 2026. (David Davis/PA Photo via Getty Images)

“I think, for me, it’s more about representing my friends and family back home, the people in front of me, all the good things about America. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I represent it. Just because I wear the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in America.

“I just wanted to do it for my friends, my family and the people who supported me to get here.”

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