Suni Lee Reveals the Surprising Reason She Turned Down Hailey Bieber's Offer to Meet Justin Bieber

Suni Lee, who grew up obsessed with Justin Bieber and danced to his music during Dancing With the Stars, explained why she rejected Hailey Bieber's invitation to meet him at the Met Gala.

By Ryan Gajewski Sep 30, 2021 7:52 AMTags
Watch: Why Gymnast Suni Lee Is a Relatable Olympic Icon

Gymnastics superstar Sunisa "Suni" Lee is known for having ice water in her veins, but when it comes to meeting the singer of "Cold Water," that's a different story.

Suni, 18, who earned Olympic gold in the individual all-around at the 2020 Tokyo Games, visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday, Sept. 30. During the chat, Suni explained that one of the perks of her whirlwind rise to fame was getting to attend the 2021 Met Gala earlier this month, where she found herself in close proximity to the likes of Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber

"I met Rihanna, I met Hailey Bieber—oh, my gosh, I love her," the Dancing With the Stars season 30 contestant recalled to host Ellen DeGeneres. "I talked to her, and I was shaking, and I was like, 'Hi, I'm Suni.' And then I was just telling her how I was dancing to Justin Bieber's 'Stay' for my first Dancing With the Stars dance. And she's like, 'You should tell him.' And I'm like, 'OK.'"

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But as it turned out, Suni may have been nodding her head yes when she wanted to say no, as she ultimately couldn't quite work up the nerve to approach the 27-year-old Grammy winner.

"Then when I got the chance to see him, I got too scared," the athlete adorably shared with a smile. "I was like, 'I'm not doing it.'" 

This led a surprised Ellen to clarify, "You didn't walk over to him and say hi?" And Suni replied, "No, I was so scared."

ABC/Maarten de Boer

Ellen assured Suni that Justin is a sweetheart and that she should meet him at some point, and the gymnast confirmed that an introduction to the singer was still on her bucket list.

"I hope so, too, because me and my sister, when we were younger, we had posters of him and blankets of him, and the posters have kissy marks on it with red lipstick," Suni confessed. "So Justin, if you're watching, just forget that I said that." She went on to say, "Yeah, I really want to meet him."

Perhaps Justin will find a way to make that happen soon, and then there will be one less lonely gymnast. 

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