Olivia Dunne鈥檚 mega-fame forces more change at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) 鈥� LSU couldn鈥檛 have anticipated the fame and rowdy fanbase that gymnast Olivia Dunne would bring to campus and the security challenges that would follow. She鈥檚 no longer able to attend classes in person and she鈥檚 the reason why the Tigers previously upped their security.聽
Dunne, who will be a senior in the fall of 2023, told on Tuesday that she no longer attends classes in person for 鈥渟afety reasons.鈥� Notably, it鈥檚 unclear exactly how long Dunne has been taking online classes for (she鈥檚 taking because she wants to turn her brand into a business after she graduates).聽
鈥淭here were some scares in the past and I just want to be as careful as possible,鈥� Dunne told . 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want people to know my daily schedule and where I am.鈥�
A simple Google search of 鈥淥livia Dunne merchandise鈥� speaks volumes to the obsession surrounding Dunne. The 20-year-old previously admitted that there are often asking for photos and autographs.聽
A video (shown below) from Dunne鈥檚 junior season points to the dozens 鈥� maybe even hundreds 鈥� of crazed-teenage boys chanting 鈥淟ivvy鈥� and 鈥淲e want her鈥� near the Tigers鈥� team bus in order to get a glimpse of Dunne.
There鈥檚 a group of fans that keep chanting 鈥淟ivvy鈥�
For those that don鈥檛 know, Livvy Dunne for LSU is the most followed college athlete on social media and her NIL is valued somewhere near $2.7 million.
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL)
This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I鈥檓 embarrassed for them. 馃槵 Leave her alone.
Fortunately for Dunne, the LSU campus is fairly tamed, but according to , 鈥淥livia says she鈥檚 careful when she walks around campus, conscious that she has eyes on her.鈥�
Overall, the Tigers athletics program has handled Dunne鈥檚 fame pretty well. Louisiana State put in new security measures after attention sparked a at a junior-year gymnastics meet. It includes , such as a . Dunne鈥檚 well-being has often been threatened online, and she told the that the university went to the police over an 鈥渋ncident.鈥澛犅�
The security challenges run deep with Dunne who has quickly earned her status as an internet celebrity. She鈥檚 a superstar with over four million followers on and 7.5 million on . She thanks to NIL ($3.3 million dollar valuation by ). The only college athlete with a bigger valuation than her is LeBron James鈥� son, Bronny James.聽
Through all the fame, Dunne remains humble. She told that she 鈥�did not expect there to be that many people out there to see me and my team (during a 2022 meet).鈥澛�
Dunne鈥檚 fame, however, affects other gymnasts. that the mother of a Utah gymnast saw her daughter and teammate get harassed by fans who said, 鈥淵ou are not Livvy, but you will do.鈥澛�
Nonetheless, Dunne鈥檚 increased popularity raises even more security concerns as she embarks on her senior year at LSU in the fall.聽
鈥淚 just want to coach [and] I don鈥檛 want to have my head on a swivel worried about if somebody is coming out of the stands,鈥� LSU gymnastics head coach Jay Clark told
