Olivia Dunne To Appear In Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

In absolutely shocking news, social media icon Olivia Dunne will appear in the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

For a magazine that became Woke Illustrated over the last 4-5 years, this is a big step in regaining some semblance of relativity amongst the male community who grew up racing to their mailboxes for Elle Macpherson's cover or to see what content Tyra Banks and Kate Upton had up their sleeves.

“Usually being a D1 athlete, an all-academic and an industrious entrepreneur is enough to garner respect and accolades,” SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said in a statement.

“But when you are Livvy Dunne and you also mix in being arrestingly beautiful, you unfortunately garner the ire and resentment of a certain niche population. The refusal of some to appreciate Livvy for being more than just a pretty blonde is missing the point. The backlash she received for ‘leveraging’ her sexuality for endorsement dollars after the NIL restrictions were lifted is incorrect. We are here to celebrate this incredible young woman and encourage the world to respect and applaud Livvy and her fellow athletes for owning the blood, sweat and tears that have fueled a lifetime of achievements.”

Call me crazy, but that sure sounds like there's a shot in there at moron New York Times columnist Kurt Streeter who was furious that Dunne was using beauty to dominate the NIL world. Streeter also played the race card and he even was offended that collegiate gays weren't making the same money as Dunne.

If I'm reading this correctly from Sports Illustrated, they're saying it's OK to be hot in a bikini and be a college athlete. This is quite the change for a magazine run by Day that has constantly tried to jam as much woke into the pages as possible.

Are we seeing a pivot here?

SI even did a deep-dive interview with Dunne where she lets us know that Paige Spiranac has acted as something of a mentor when it comes to cyberbullies.

"People always comment stuff that they would never say to your face, so part of it is just having developed tough skin. Social media is hard,” Dunne told SI. “That’s something that Paige Spiranac helped me with, just keeping certain parts of your life private. Making sure not to post things that, you know, maybe you don’t want people’s feedback on.”

We also learn this is the very first time Dunne has done an editorial bikini photoshoot.

“Just getting the opportunity to be in SI Swimsuit was such a dream of mine and when it happened, I actually could not believe it,” the LSU gymnast added.