Hospitalized Gabby Douglas Misses Out on Final Five's Epic VMAs Night


 by Deborah Day

Olympic gold medalist hospitalized because of a "seriously infected past mouth injury" on night her teammates present Beyoncé with big award.

The "Final Five" gymnastics dream team was down one during the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday night.

Set to present megastar Beyoncé with the female video award during the program, gymnastics gold medalists Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman, who dominated the 2016 Rio Games, were missing their teammate Gabby Douglas who was hospitalized.

Douglas posted a photo of herself getting some bed rest in a hotel room on Sunday with a message that did not disclose her ailment: "Out of the hospital & resting comfortably! #FinalFive so sad I can't be with u all to present tonite😩 @MTV thank u❣ xoxo 💋 #VMAs."

Her publicist later told People.com that she had to return to the hospital on Sunday night, however: "Gabby is back in the hospital tonight being treated for a seriously infected past mouth injury. She continues to have deep swelling and adverse reactions to medications."

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Biles gave an update to People from the red carpet: "I think she's feeling a little better, but she's staying home as a precaution. We're sad she couldn't be here to enjoy this with us. We miss her!"

Fun at the VMAs With the Final Five

The Olympic champions took to social media to celebrate their night of fun, with Raisman posting a note to Instagram with a photo of the four, wishing her teammate well.

"We missed you @gabbycvdouglas we hope you're feeling better ❤️"

With Queen B...

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Ariana Grande...

And Kim Kardashian...

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And rapper G Eazy who performed with Britney Spears...

MTV celebrated the athletes in Twitter posts and a short video.

And shared why Beyoncé is QUEEN! Her VMA performance was over 16 minutes of uninterrupted, undiluted female ferocity.

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Controversy Dogs Douglas

Douglas suffered from criticism during the Olympics for not putting her hand over her heart during the U.S. national anthem and for not appearing supportive enough when in the stands watching her teammates Biles and Raisman compete in the all-around individual, which she did not qualify for.

Her mom finally took a stand against cyber-bulling Douglas was enduring while at the games. "Gabrielle's had her heart broken," Natalie Hawkins said in an interview with Reuters in mid-August.

"She's had to deal with people criticizing her hair, or people accusing her of bleaching her skin," Hawkins related. "They said she had breast enhancements, they said she wasn't smiling enough, she's unpatriotic. Then it went to not supporting your team mates. Now you're 'Crabby Gabby.'

"You name it and she got trampled. What did she ever do to anyone?"

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What Do YOU Think?

Did you watch the MTV VMA Awards? What did you think of the Final Five's appearance? What did you think of Douglas's treatment during the Olympic Games? Tell us in the comments!

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