I think J Law and Emma Stone are pretty close.

rhutton125 said:

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Jennifer Lawrence was on her way but we like to turn on people as soon as we've raised them up. So people were over her schtick within a few years, I think.

you cant be America's sweetheart when Harvey Weinstein's iCloud gets hacked with pictures of your ******* on them.

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Exactly. America's sweetheart might be getting facials but america ain't seeing the evidence.

I think the current answer (unfortunately) is Taylor Swift.

But she is getting political, and that has a chance to ruin it for her.

TCTTS said:

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Again, the motivations you're ascribing to her, without having any idea what she was truly thinking/going through, are so incredibly fascinating, in the most bad faith effort possible.

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You clearly cannot read. I didn't ascribe any motivations to her. I'm going 100% on what people said as a response to what she said. She said X, people responded with Y. And the fact that a BUNCH of people think Y is a reason why she could never be "America's Sweetheart" to them.

Unemployed said:

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aTmAg said:

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TCTTS said:

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How can you possibly know that the sexual abuse wasn't a contributing factor to her deteriorating mental health?

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I'm talking about why people (that I find online) criticized Biles. Not about what was going on in her mind.

Remember when she first quit, she said nothing about "mental health". She said it was because of the "twisties". Critics pointed out that would adversely effect her legacy. That if Jordan quit a playoff game because of the "shooties" or something then he would never hear the end of it. Just look at Pippen. He quit a playoff game and is bashed for it to this very day.

After the initial burst of criticism she claimed "mental health" (and said nothing about Nassar). That's why people accused her of playing the "victim card". After all, half the internet rushed to her defense and called her "brave" for "raising awareness" for mental health. And she ate that up.

If she said something about Nassar being part of the cause, then it was well after. Well after people accused her of playing the victim card.

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That's a dumb analogy. If Jordan suffered from the yips, he has no chance of hurting himself as a result. When you have the twisties, you lose spatial awareness when you're in the air and where one fewer twist or flip might mean you're landing on your head.

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I'm no gymnastics expert, but I am aware of no other gymnast who has quit in the middle of the Olympics because of the twisties, and there is a reason Kerri Strug is a hero to this day.

Fair or not, that has had an effect on her legacy.

If the coaches pulled her because she told them that her twisties would hurt the team then I think her reputation would be unharmed. In fact, I think it might be enhanced as it would come off as her sacrificing her own career for the sake of the team.

TCTTS said:

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Quote:

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After the initial burst of criticism she claimed "mental health" (and said nothing about Nassar). That's why people accused her of playing the "victim card". After all, half the internet rushed to her defense and called her "brave" for "raising awareness" for mental health. And she ate that up.

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That is YOU ascribing disingenuity on her part; implying that she wasn't sincere in her reasoning, and instead simply reacted to the moment, indeed playing the victim card, etc. When, in reality, you have no idea if that was true or not. Never mind that fact that every opinion you've ever shared on this board would indicate you agree with the people you're quoting.

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All you have to do is look at all the gazillions of interviews to see that she not only ate it up, but is eating to this day.

So you clearly share the opinions of those you were quoting, while trying to argue you were merely just quoting their opinions. Got it. Thanks for confirming.

Telling how you come after me and not aTmAg, who's harping on it just as much if not more than I am.

Right back at you.

Fwiw, I was unaware that she was victimized by Nasser.

It's a mitigating factor, to be sure. But my issue with Biles was that, prior to the Olympics, she was purposefully on the front pages and airwaves in regards to her "GOAT" status. She claimed it and when it came time to perform, she quit.

But if I'm being honest, I don't think she would have ever been America's Sweetheart, for a completely different and uncomfortable reason.

LeonardSkinner said:

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Fwiw, I was unaware that she was victimized by Nasser.

It's a mitigating factor, to be sure. But my issue with Biles was that, prior to the Olympics, she was purposefully on the front pages and airwaves in regards to her "GOAT" status. She claimed it and when it came time to perform, she quit.

But if I'm being honest, I don't think she would have ever been America's Sweetheart, for a completely different and uncomfortable reason.

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I was unaware too. I forgot that she called herself GOAT. She even had a goat embroidered on her leotard.

And if you are talking about her race. I disagree. This isn't 1960 anymore. There are plenty of hugely popular black musicians and actors (both genders).

If you are talking about attractiveness, then I probably agree. There is a reason Olivia Dunne has more followers, and it sure as hell isn't because she's better than Biles at gymnastics.

I think the top reason is she is an athlete. Actresses focus 100% of their effort on appearances (both physical and otherwise). They have PR teams focused on that. Most athletes spend 100% of their time working hard at excelling at their sport. There are very few top athletes who are not considered a-holes by a segment of the population. MJ being a very famous example. Even Messi, who by all accounts is a ridiculously nice guy, has rivals who hate him.

Yes, I do think her race would have held her back from the top echelon. Obviously one can be Black or Latina or Asian or whatever, and still be popular: Flo Jo, Whitney, Halle Berry, Beyonce, etc. But no woman of color immediately comes to mind as having held that "title" of America's Sweetheart.

LeonardSkinner said:

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Yes, I do think her race would have held her back from the top echelon. Obviously one can be Black or Latina or Asian or whatever, and still be popular: Flo Jo, Whitney, Halle Berry, Beyonce, etc. But no woman of color immediately comes to mind as having held that "title" of America's Sweetheart.

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Can you think of a one who should have been America's Sweetheart? I think Whitney came close, but she was competing with Meg Ryan and then Julia Roberts in their primes. If Ryan was earlier and Roberts later, then I think Whitney would have been it.

I actually think a case could be made for Biles being America's sweetheart in 2016-2017 after winning the gold medal at the Olympics. She was everywhere that year. Below is from her Wikipedia. She was a finalist for 2016 Time's person of the year lol.

Biles was named Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year in December 2015, making her the fourth gymnast to win the honor.[178] In December 2016, Biles was chosen as one of the sponsors of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, alongside Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Katie Ledecky.[179] They are the first Olympians to be given this honor. In 2016, Simone Biles won the Glamour Award for the Record Breaker.[180] That same year, she was chosen as one of BBC's 100 Women, and after the world championships, she was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25 and chosen as Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation.[181][182] She was also one of the finalists for Time's 2016 Person of the Year. Biles was also nominated for a 2016 ESPY award for Best Female Athlete along with Elena Delle Donne, Katie Ledecky, and Breanna Stewart; Stewart won the award.[183][184] In 2016, Biles became the third gymnast after Olga Korbut and Nadia Comneci to be named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.[185]
In July 2017, Biles won the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete.[1

For a little variety in the thread, if you open it up to both genders, who's the most universally liked actor?

The ones that come to mind to me are the Ryans. (Gosling and Reynolds.)

Affable, charming, no personal controversies, never made any political statements that alienated anyone (to my knowledge), and generally make feel-good movies.

And right after posting, Keanu Reeves came to mind as well.

Weirdly all three are Canadian.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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For a little variety in the thread, if you open it up to both genders, who's the most universally liked actor?

The ones that come to mind to me are the Ryans. (Gosling and Reynolds.)

Affable, charming, never made any political statements that alienated anyone (to my knowledge), and generally make feel-good movies.

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Gosling did piss off people with some statements when he was promoting First Man.

If we go by eras, maybe Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, and now Reynolds?

The male only athlete I can think of that is nearly universally loved is Lionel Messi. Though he is not American (but he lives here now).

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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I think the next one might be Zendaya.

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Jenna Ortega, American's Goth Sweetheart

aTmAg said:

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LeonardSkinner said:

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Yes, I do think her race would have held her back from the top echelon. Obviously one can be Black or Latina or Asian or whatever, and still be popular: Flo Jo, Whitney, Halle Berry, Beyonce, etc. But no woman of color immediately comes to mind as having held that "title" of America's Sweetheart.

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Can you think of a one who should have been America's Sweetheart? I think Whitney came close, but she was competing with Meg Ryan and then Julia Roberts in their primes. If Ryan was earlier and Roberts later, then I think Whitney would have been it.

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Of those, sure. Whitney was the closest. I'd like to make an argument for Vanessa Williams, actually winning Miss America, but that scandal brought her down too quickly.

Dark horse: Mariah Carey.

LeonardSkinner said:

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aTmAg said:

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LeonardSkinner said:

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Yes, I do think her race would have held her back from the top echelon. Obviously one can be Black or Latina or Asian or whatever, and still be popular: Flo Jo, Whitney, Halle Berry, Beyonce, etc. But no woman of color immediately comes to mind as having held that "title" of America's Sweetheart.

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Can you think of a one who should have been America's Sweetheart? I think Whitney came close, but she was competing with Meg Ryan and then Julia Roberts in their primes. If Ryan was earlier and Roberts later, then I think Whitney would have been it.

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Of those, sure. Whitney was the closest. I'd like to make an argument for Vanessa Williams, actually winning Miss America, but that scandal brought her down too quickly.

Dark horse: Mariah Carey.

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Can you think of a black actress/singer who should have been America's Sweetheart if it wasn't for racism? I can't.

Beyonce? I guess not for racism, just that she could be considered.

Damn, is that Halle Berry?

She's gorgeous.

Because they were not white? I don't know.

I hesitate to use institutional racism as a reasoning, but maybe it's because there weren't/aren't that many roles for young ethnic women that would have put them in a sweetheart category.

Keshia Knight Pulliam? Everyone loved little Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Tatyana Ali from Fresh Prince of Bel Air? I think those were good roles to start with, but they weren't able to follow them up with anything of substance.

Indeed.

I think Beyonc is in a similar boat as Taylor Swift. She is so big that she naturally generates too much divisiveness.

There was probably a time when she could've been it before she got quite so blown up.

LeonardSkinner said:

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Because they were not white? I don't know.

I hesitate to use institutional racism as a reasoning, but maybe it's because there weren't/aren't that many roles for young ethnic women that would have put them in a sweetheart category.

Keshia Knight Pulliam? Everyone loved little Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Tatyana Ali from Fresh Prince of Bel Air? I think those were good roles to start with, but they weren't able to follow them up with anything of substance.

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Gabrielle Union. But now she's only known as Dwyane Wade's wife.

For some reason I was assuming one per decade. If we do it year by year, then there have been plenty of black sweethearts.