WAG Why Does Shawn Johnson Lie So Much In Her Speeches?

[txgymfan]

Even if the numbers are exaggerated, she still doing well. Some of those endorsements have expired, but clearly paid well at the time. She seems to have a steady stream of gym visits, some comentating, speaking and semi reality programs. ( Her next one is an MTV challange show. ) A business bachelors and an MBA with some online classes would makes sense as a next step.

I'm guessing her husband is almost done trying out for the NFL after his last post complaining about how they wouldn't let him go to Hall of Fame induction.

I admire her ability to stay relevant. She has made choices worked hard and capatolized on her fame and has earned her millions of dollars.

I still don't like how she lies and over shares but I do watch some of the videos that brings her revenue. I also think it's fair to call her out on things that aren't true or when she isn't nice to her fans because she is doing this as her profession. When her celebrity fades, she should have a nice nest egg to support what comes next.

 

[GymFan96]

Perhaps you don't know how much money people make from endorsements.

.

Geez this thread has taken quite a turn. I made it to discuss Shawn's public speeches, not to critique her personal life. But since the topic has turned that way, yes she got huge endorsement money but the $9 million might still be inaccurate because remember Shawn and Andrew live a VERY lavish lifestyle. Yes they get a lot of freebies. But the multiple houses/apartments, constant flights and hotel stays, etc must add up. And her husband has never had an actual job from what I can see.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Geez this thread has taken quite a turn. I made it to discuss Shawn's public speeches, not to critique her personal life.

You act all surprised at the flames, but it was you who brought the kindling and the matches.

 

[Seeker]

You act all surprised at the flames, but it was you who brought the kindling and the matches.

Not really...Shawn is an adult and is actively and repeatedly putting herself — verifiable lies and all — out in the public eye. If she wanted to return to a private life after gymnastics, she could have. She didn’t. So it stands to reason that whatever she puts out there is fair game for discussion and judgment.

 

[txgymfan]

Geez this thread has taken quite a turn. I made it to discuss Shawn's public speeches, not to critique her personal life. And her husband has never had an actual job from what I can see.

Shawn and her husband have made their personal life and their professional life one in the same. She does not separate them so we can't. She was paid for her wedding photos and has been paid ( via YouTube) for discussing her miscarriage. That's as personal as it gets.

Her husband did finish his Bachelors and earned an MBA while trying out for NFL teams ( almost all of them). I found the videos of his NFL expirences some of the most interesting on their channel. It gave us a glimpse into a side of professional sports that is rarely discussed. He almost made it.

 

[kecks]

well, public life or not - we chose what we discuss. some people talk about people, some talk about ideas and concepts... some love drama, some do not. some like to talk people down, some do not. how would you liked to be talked about if you chose to have a public youtube channel? being kind is never wrong.

 

[Lunde]

She finished high school, and I'm sure she'd be accepted into a college, if she wanted to go. There are so many fascinating careers she could pursue, including ones related to gymnastics, if she so chose. Coaching is one, management or perhaps owning a gym another; motivational speaking a la Dawes, etc. Or she could go for something totally different. I just can't fathom how she can feel satisfied with not doing much. I feel restless after the three-month summer break for uni!

I'm pretty sure Shawn was enrolled at Vanderbilt (it's where she met her husband) but that she did not actually attend classes as she decided to do the Celebrity Apprentice instead.

It seems that she and her husband have decided to live the celebrity lifestyle - but I can't help but think that they soon need to have a new long-term plan. Her "fame" must be waning as younger gym fans don't really know a medalist from a decade ago and her husband's NFL dream seems to be over now,

 

[txgymfan]

well, public life or not - we chose what we discuss. some people talk about people, some talk about ideas and concepts... some love drama, some do not. some like to talk people down, some do not. how would you liked to be talked about if you chose to have a public youtube channel?

If I had a public YouTube channel, I would be thrilled a thread about me had gotten to almost 90 posts of conversation. It raises awareness about the channel and brand and may get more people to watch like and subscribe.

We have not just been talking about SJ but also about the idea of earning a living off personal videos and what that could mean for a child's future. Bog's son earns a living off videos too. It's a new concept for some of us and the idea has fuled much of the discussion.

And yes, I find people fascinating. The endless variations on how we live our lives intrigues me.

 

[GymFan96]

You act all surprised at the flames, but it was you who brought the kindling and the matches.

Shawn herself started that fire lol. If an NFL player claimed he made it to a Super Bowl he wasn't in, wouldn't fans call him out? Or if he claimed he had a "guaranteed" spot on a team when he was actually out of shape with a destroyed knee? The YouTube miscarriage stuff doesn't matter to me because it doesn't affect anyone else. But lying about gymnastics discredits the other athletes who worked harder that quad.

 

[Midwestmommy]

I hope she made plenty of money, nothing wrong with that. And if she can milk it for some residual income, eh, who cares, but she is young and it would be great if she finds a new passion at some point.

Just like the quarterback who peaked in high school, or even college, and didn't get an education out of the deal, it may take some time to figure it out. Peaking in high school is fine if you find a life that makes you happy. Just like reliving something like the state or NCAA championship is fun for a while for us mere mortals and is OK at reunions, it gets irrelevant after a while and not too many people care. This is starting to feel a little like that with the online stuff. She's young though she'll figure it out.

The lack of honesty is a little pathetic though, regardless of the audience. Though you know that trophy fish I caught back in the day gets bigger every year and with every beer... Lack of empathy is a sign of narcissism, if that's the case here (I have no idea) that part is unlikely to change.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I had noticed her turning up on chaccels like Bratayley, Whitney Bjerkens channel, 7 super girls and any channel that has a following of gymnasts!

 

[rgmom]

I don't think I have heard a comment from anyone that has ever interacted with Kyla in person that didn't use the word lovely.

Yes!! We met her in Pittsburgh at the P & Gs. She was walking with her coach and we were across the street. One of my daughter's who normally is very shy and quiet, shouted to KYLA, and she responded immediately!! She could have easily kept on walking and ignored her, but she stopped, turned around, smiled and waved and waited for my daughters to run across the street for a photo and a hug.
On the same note, we met Nastia at some crazy Professional Gymnastics Invitational event thingy a number of years ago. (I can't for the life of me remember the name). Anyway, she was also was lovely and super friendly to my girls.

 

[tumbletop]

I agree and besides I'm sure they're still on the hook if they're sick or their dog just died or who knows what. Also, in many cases these are 16-21 year olds. It seems a little harsh to judge them totally from that.

I worked in a pharmacy at that age. I had 400 to 500 prescriptions to sell, one right after the other, and I was expected to be just as upbeat, friendly, and attentive with patient #500 as with patient #1. And I was paid $7.25 an hour, not thousands of dollars, and the people weren't generally excited to see me so there was no "upbeat energy" to feed off, so to speak. You have a job, it might suck, but at least do it well. Jeez.

 

[Seeker]

well, public life or not - we chose what we discuss. some people talk about people, some talk about ideas and concepts... some love drama, some do not. some like to talk people down, some do not. how would you liked to be talked about if you chose to have a public youtube channel? being kind is never wrong.

If I went on YouTube and lied about publicly known facts, I would expect to be called on it. I may not care, but I also wouldn’t expect it to go unnoticed either.

 

[gymdog]

I worked in a pharmacy at that age. I had 400 to 500 prescriptions to sell, one right after the other, and I was expected to be just as upbeat, friendly, and attentive with patient #500 as with patient #1. And I was paid $7.25 an hour, not thousands of dollars, and the people weren't generally excited to see me so there was no "upbeat energy" to feed off, so to speak. You have a job, it might suck, but at least do it well. Jeez.

Good for you. Most of us work. And there have been days I've done my job better than others.

 

[triplethreat+1]

Yeah

Good for you. Most of us work. And there have been days I've done my job better than others.

Yeah, but if as a coach it was impacting your interactions with the kids in a noticeable way, wouldn't you expect to be called out for it? I work with animals, I am expected to be kind and gentle with them all the time, bad day or not.
I think tumbletops point is that there are plenty of 16-21 yr olds in service type jobs, they can expect to be reprimanded if they don't consistently portray themselves as cheerful and caring, so why shouldn't these girls?

 

[sevenatenine2]

I always thought being "gymnastics famous" would be just about the right kind of famous. Most of the time you're unnoticed, but then go to these gymnastics events 3-4 times a year and you're treated like a celebrity. I don't feel too sorry for
them. They could always decline to take part in the tours/events if they didn't want to participate.

 

[gymdog]

Yeah

Yeah, but if as a coach it was impacting your interactions with the kids in a noticeable way, wouldn't you expect to be called out for it? I work with animals, I am expected to be kind and gentle with them all the time, bad day or not.
I think tumbletops point is that there are plenty of 16-21 yr olds in service type jobs, they can expect to be reprimanded if they don't consistently portray themselves as cheerful and caring, so why shouldn't these girls?

Sure but have they been aggressively rude? We have one account of declining a picture while not at an event (which might have been a direction from a publicist, probably was) and a few accounts of just signing autographs which is what the job was. I'm sure some of them are better at the job than others if they are good at making small talk but it doesn't sound like any of them have refused to do the actual job. And then other people post opposing accounts where the same girls were friendly. So I guess like most people their ability to cope with some situations varies.

 

[tumbletop]

Yeah

Yeah, but if as a coach it was impacting your interactions with the kids in a noticeable way, wouldn't you expect to be called out for it? I work with animals, I am expected to be kind and gentle with them all the time, bad day or not.
I think tumbletops point is that there are plenty of 16-21 yr olds in service type jobs, they can expect to be reprimanded if they don't consistently portray themselves as cheerful and caring, so why shouldn't these girls?

That is exactly what I meant, sorry if it wasn't clear in my original post. Mostly I just think that if people are paying you for a specific product or service, you should do it in the manner they expect. I absolutely understand being tired, being burned out, having serious problems on your mind--during my 5 year pharmacy stint, I lost 3 relatives, 8 friends, both of my dogs, and my ability to ever be anything more than a casual rec dancer and gymnast. And full time school. But when I went to work, I had to slap a smile on my face, turn on my cheerful voice, and serve my customers as though I had no problems in the world, because that's what I was being paid to do. These gymnasts have the ability to block out distracting thoughts, they talk about doing so in training, at camp, and at meets, so why shouldn't they use that ability when they're taking the 500th picture and signing the 874884th autograph?

 

[kecks]

...i think it is horrible if i as a customer get to interact with a cheerfull happy but very much faking service person who does so because she fears to loose her job if she dares to show her true feelings. this is what marx calls "entfremdung", not being yourself anymore because of economic necessities. i take a grumpy but honest service worker any time over a fake smiling fake happy one. anytime! perhaps also a cultural differnece thing, we germans are very much about being upfront and honest. we dislike fake.