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Why Olivia Dunne Thinks She’s Been ‘Shadow Banned’ on Tik Tok

The LSU gymnast and content creator expressed her frustration on the video-based platform.

Ananya Panchal

Olivia Dunne

Olivia Dunne.

LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne’s TikTok views have dropped significantly over the past couple of weeks and the NCAA star is trying to figure out why.

The 21-year-old who has built a following of 7.8 million on the video-based platform (and 4.5 million on Instagram) often gets a few million views on each post. This month, however, the New Jersey native hasn’t been reaching anywhere near her regular numbers—and she’s well aware of it.

“Why am I shadow banned,” she wrote in a comment on her own TikTok of her and boyfriend Paul Skenes in NYC. Other fans chimed in to agree with Dunne’s sentiment, noting she wasn’t showing up on their For You Page, or mentioning that the same problem was happening to other creators, as well.

The Livvy Fund creator, who is the highest-paid female college athlete in the country opened up to people about her rise to fame and what it’s been like growing on social media.

“I’ve definitely learned over the past few years that, this past year mostly, that keeping certain things private is okay. This year I have the best grasp on [social media,” she shared. “The past few years, juggling NIL or ever since my sophomore year, since the summer of 2021, I’ve definitely had a hard time finding balance, [which is] really important because if you don’t have balance, that can affect your mental health. I finally feel like I got a grasp on it this year. It’s just compartmentalizing things mentally is very important in my everyday routine.”

The SI Swimsuit model added that she and Skenes, who was the No. 1 draft pick earlier this year and landed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, never set a plan on how or when to launch their relationship to the world.

“It’s funny because there [were] speculations at first about it, but I guess people caught onto us having pictures and videos together out in public, so that’s kind of how the news broke,” she explained. “But we try to keep things private.”

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit, where she covers fashion, beauty, pop culture and the internet’s favorite personalities and trends. She joined the brand in 2022 after roles at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. Panchal loves to write about fashion in all its forms—from standout runway moments and evolving street style to the best accessories to elevate each season’s wardrobe (she rarely goes anywhere without a stack of jewelry and a coffee in hand). A self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, she’s always on the hunt for must-have products and loves breaking down viral trends. Her favorite series at the moment is spotlighting female founders and the stories behind the brands they’ve built—especially those shaping the future of fashion, wellness and tech. She is based between New York City and San Francisco and, when she’s not writing, can be found rewatching One Tree Hill, playing sudoku, trying new restaurants or ranking her favorite Disney Channel Original Movies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism with a minor in criminal justice from Boston University.

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