LSU Hires Bodyguard For Influencer Gymnast Olivia Dunne After Fan Incident

Louisiana State University has increased security for star gymnast Olivia 'Livvy' Dunne after her team's season opener in Utah was swarmed by rowdy fans last week.

Gymnastics coach Jay Clark told the Advocate/Times-Picayune that a security officer will travel with the team for the remainder of the season after a large crowd of young male fans raucously packed the arena in support of the social media influencer.

"That person will be in our hotel and outside our locker room and getting us to and from the bus at the venue," Clark said. "(The officer) will be there to create a perimeter that keeps everybody safe.

"We want to be accessible to our fans with autographs and kids, but we also don't want to bury our heads in the sand. We want to make sure everybody is safe at all times."

A video shared online by former Olympic gymnast and current NBC Sports analyst Samantha Peszek showed a pack of young men chanting loudly "Livvy" before several individually yell various things in relation to Dunne while waiting near the team's bus outside the tunnel of the arena.

"This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them," Peszek tweeted.

Dunne, 20, responded to the incident in a tweet shared on Sunday (January 13).

"I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job," Dunne wrote.

Dunne, a former All-American and a 2022 WCGA Scholastic All-American, amassed more than 6 million followers on TikTok and nearly 3 million on Instagram, making her the most-followed NCAA athlete on social media.

The New Jersey native has reportedly netted "seven figures" in income through endorsements in adherence with the NCAA's name, image and likeness rules.