This wasn’t exactly Olivia “Livvy” Dunne’s one shining moment.
The former LSU gymnast and girlfriend of Pirates ace Paul Skenes was in attendance at the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, Friday, a day before the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and set up the day’s races with the “Riders up” announcement.
But the usually charismatic Dunne came across flat.
“Kentucky Oaks fans, now for the annual tradition we’ve all been looking forward to: Riders up,” Dunne said.
Throughout the one-sentence announcement, she kept looking down, as if reading from a cue card or teleprompter. Also, the crowd let Dunne down as there was no reaction at the conclusion of her live TV moment.
People were quick to critique Dunne on social for what one commenter described as a “cringe” moment, which was seen seven million times in NBC Sports’ tweet as of early Sunday afternoon.
“Can you imagine how long it would take for her and paul to do a puzzle,” an X user posted.
“The intonation of a wood plank,” another said.
One person added: “I’ve been to funerals more hype than this.”
“Why she looking down so much can she not remember 2 sentences,” one said on X.
Someone responded and said, “it was only one sentence” and the inital user quipped, “was tryna throw Liv a bone.”
However, the incident didn’t deter Dunne from returning on Saturday for the Derby, in which she stunned in a white dress with black polka dots and black mesh covering the top portion, and of course with a matching hat.
She did not appear to have any other announcement responsibilities at the big event, which was a first for the former gymnast.
Dunne put an end to her gymnastics chapter in April when LSU finished the season in third place in the NCAA semifinals.
She became one of the early faces of college athletics’ NIL era, building an NIL valuation reportedly worth over $4 million.
