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US-born Chinese Olympic skier Eileen Gu faced scrutiny on social media this week after she made comments about President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of US Olympian Hunter Hess.
San Francisco-born Gu is the world’s highest-paid Winter Olympic athlete, earning an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone through partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and Western firms. Gu said she represented China to her mother, who was born there.
Gu has never spoken out against alleged human rights abuses in China, including the alleged systematic campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.
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Gold medalist Eileen Gu of China celebrates during the medal ceremony for women’s big air freestyle skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics, February 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
However, Gu commented on Trump’s criticism of Hess for expressing “mixed emotions” about representing the United States in Milan Cortina.
“I’m sorry that the title that overshadows the Olympics has to be something that has nothing to do with the spirit of the Games. It really goes against everything the Olympics should be about,” Gu told reporters on Monday.
“The whole point of sport is to bring people together. … One of the very few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the spirit of competition, the ability to break not only records, but above all in our sport, literally the human limit. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Gu also claimed that she herself had been “caught in the crossfire.”
“As someone who has been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said. “I hope they can ski at their best level.”
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Eileen Gu celebrates winning the gold medal after competing in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Genting Snow Park. (Danielle Parhizkaran/USA Today Sports)
Gu’s comments sparked backlash on social media, with many critics pointing out that Gu has never spoken out against China for its alleged human rights abuses.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom blasted Gu in a lengthy X-post, calling her a “traitor.”
“Eileen Gu is a traitor. She was born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete with her own country to fight against the worst human rights violator on the planet, China. She built her fame in a free country, then chose to represent an authoritarian regime while enjoying the support of watchdog groups for mass detention and forced labor camps. When human rights are brought up, she disappears,” Kanter wrote.
“It’s not neutrality. It’s a choice. She chose to play for a country responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people and currently running concentration camps, instead of the country where she was born and where she had the opportunity.”
Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, also highlighted Gu’s silence on China’s alleged persecution of Uighurs and political imprisonment of individuals who oppose Xi Jinping.
“Look, it’s fine for athletes to criticize the US president. It’s also not that interesting because it happens all the time. What’s interesting about this story… is that Eileen Gu is an American skier competing for China. No mention of whether the CCP’s genocide of the Uyghurs “is against everything the Olympics should be.” No criticism of Xi Jinping for the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai, Pastor Ezra Jin, Gulshan Abbas or many other Chinese political prisoners,” Sobolik wrote on X.
“If you criticize America but don’t say a word about the CCP, that says a lot about you. If you’re an American athlete who exploits the freedom this country has given you to represent an authoritarian regime, that says even more.”
Republican communications specialist Matt Whitlock echoed similar criticisms of Gu in an X article.
“I can’t imagine a worse voice on this topic than an athlete who gave up her US citizenship for deals supporting the Chinese Communist Party. Does Eileen Gu have any criticism of Xi Jinping for genocide, slavery and arresting dissidents?” Whitlock wrote.
Several other X users spoke out against Gu.
Trump has been one of the most talked about figures at this year’s Winter Olympics, and several athletes, including Hess, have offered suggestive criticism of his handling of the United States.
Trump posted a scathing message on social media, calling Hess “a real loser.”
“American Olympic skier Hunter Hess, a real loser, says he is not representing his country in the current Winter Olympics,” he wrote.
“If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried to make the team, and it’s a shame he made it. Very hard to support someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Hess initially said of representing the United States: “Representing the United States right now brings mixed emotions, I think. It’s a little difficult. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t.
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China’s Eileen Gu reacts to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Monday February 9, 2026. (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
“I think for me it’s more about representing my friends and family back home, the people who represented them before me, everything that I believe is good about the United States. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing them. Just because I’m carrying the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the United States.
“I just want to do it for my friends, my family and the people who support me to get here.”
