Chiles made an appearance at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Wednesday, one month after she was stripped of an Olympic bronze medal in floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Games, an ordeal she described as ‘devastating’ and ‘unjust.’ After the controversial announcement was made, rapper Flavor Flav took to X and vowed to gift Chiles a bronze clock necklace, ‘something NO ONE else has,’ he wrote.
He made good on his promise on Wednesday.
‘I know they tried to take your medal away from you, but you know what? I got you something that they can’t take away from you,’ Flavor Flav said before unveiling the one-of-a-kind pendant.
He hung it around Chiles’ neck as the crowd at UBS Arena applauded. The gesture left Chiles speechless.
2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games.
‘Wow. I don’t even know what to say here,’ Chiles said.
Watch the heartwarming exchange here:
Earlier Wednesday, Chiles attended the Forbes Power Women’s Summit and opened up about how her “heart was broken” after she was stripped of her Olympic bronze medal. She said the last five weeks have taken a toll on her.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was,” Chiles said, before pausing to gather herself, “it was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am.
“It’s not about the medal,” she added. “It’s about my skin color. It’s about the fact there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete. And I felt like everything has been stripped. I felt like when I was back in 2018 where I did lose the love of the sport, I lost it again.”
Chiles initially finished fifth in the floor final on Aug. 5 behind Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Chiles’ coach appealed her difficulty score, arguing Chiles had not been given full credit for a tour jete, a leap. A review panel agreed, and the additional 0.100 elevated the American ahead of both Romanians into third place. Romania appealed, challenging the timing of Chiles’ inquiry. On the final day of the Paris Games, six days after the event final, the International Gymnastics Federation announced it was re-ordering the floor exercise results after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Chiles’ scoring inquiry had been submitted too late.
The International Olympic Committee then declared Barbosu of Romania the bronze medalist.
USA Gymnastics said video found after the CAS ruling showed coach Cecile Landi had, in fact, made the inquiry in time. But the CAS said it could not be considered after the fact.