Olivia Dunne, LSU gymnast and TikTok star, asks fans to be respectful as crowds shout, ‘We want Livvy’

At Louisiana State University, Olivia Dunne is known as a champion gymnast.

On TikTok, she’s a social media star with millions of followers — and some who will do anything to meet her.

The two spotlights collided on Jan. 6 at the University of Utah, where droves of her social media fans flocked to the college gymnastics meet in hopes of seeing her.

Samantha Peszek, an Olympic medalist turned broadcaster, recorded the scene leaving the meet. Fans — mostly teen boys — are seen screaming and nearly foaming at the mouth as they shout, “We want Livvy.”

“This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey,” Peszek said on Twitter. “I’m embarrassed for them.”

Another Olympic medalist and ESPN reporter, Kathy Johnson Clarke, was asked by one fan if they were Dunne’s mom.

“They were screaming to me, ‘Are you Livvy’s mom? Are you Livvy’s mom?’ Very disturbing. Creepy, actually,” Clarke said on Twitter. “To be clear, these are teenage boys, and this should be a teachable moment. They were excited to see in person someone they follow on social media along with 4+ million other obsessed fans, but they had no idea how to comport themselves during the competition or after.”

Other competing gymnasts told FOX13 that the screaming and catcalling during the event from Dunne’s fans was disrupting.

“It’s disappointing that those people kind of disrespect the athletes and that’s never nice to see,” Amelie Morgan, a sophomore gymnast at Utah, told FOX13. “She’s just like us, she’s another gymnast, another teammate. She’s doing exactly the same thing. She must love the support and she’s done amazing for herself, but when there’s disrespectful comments it’s kind of a shame, especially when you’re working hard to perform for those fans.”

Other photos from Twitter showed fans holding up signs and cardboard cutouts of the TikTok star.

Dunne spoke out on Twitter about her fans’ actions during and after the meet.

“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 said on Twitter.