“I was nowhere near as cool as you, but I just have never seen anything like you — no one has,” the singer told the Olympic gold medalist during their friendly head-to-head
SZA gave up her dream of being a national gymnast years ago, but she still knows a few moves. Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the singer accomplished another major goal: playing around in the gym with gold medalist Simone Biles for a lighthearted handstand competition — or lighthearted for the gymnast, at least.
“I don’t care about my nails, I’m scared to lose,” SZA told Biles, who cautioned her to be careful not to hurt herself while they warmed up for their friendly head-to-head. The singer noted that her pivot from gymnastics to music was largely informed by a hunger for competition. With that drive to compete came a willingness to face challenges head-on, even if that meant facing off with a six-times World all-around champion with seven Olympic medals.
“You’re like my wildest dream,” SZA told Biles. “I was nowhere near as cool as you, but I just have never seen anything like you — no one has.” The singer was resolved with the idea that she might lose even before they flipped themselves upside down and waited to see who would tumble first. SZA stumbled briefly in the beginning, but recovered enough to outlast Biles, who folded just a few seconds before the singer tapped out.
The two-minute clip of the pair hanging out concludes with a “to be continued” title card, teasing more content to come. A video shared to SZA’s Instagram Story over the weekend captured her and Biles doing beam dismounts together, launching off of parallel beams into a pile of red foam blocks. SZA also shared a video of Biles’ floor routine at the 2024 Olympic trials, which was set to Taylor Swift’s Reputation single “….Ready for It.”
“Watched this so many times and still unready,” Swift wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in response to the same clip. “She’s ready for it tho👏👏👏🥇🇺🇸❤️”