British Olympian Keely Hodges has sparked controversy with her latest TikTok post, in which she criticizes Americans for being “loud.”
She did not have to say or even do much—she merely used a voiceover while showing herself sipping her beverages frenetically.
Be that as it may, the sight drew a mix of reactions ranging from mildly critical, with some dragging her recent third-place win at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships.
Highlights
- Keely Hodges shared a TikTok implying Americans are the loudest in restaurants.
- The Paris 2024 gold medalist faced backlash and support in equal measure.
- US Olympian Massai Russel reacted, prompting Hodges to soften her stance.
Others proclaiming to be American agreed with the UK sports icon with apparent enthusiasm.
Keely Hodges is famous for her 2024 Olympic gold win
Image credits: Adam Pretty/Getty
The video with 17,000 likes and 83 comments is not the most illustrious post (in terms of viral footage), but because it was by Hodges, who won gold for the 800m sprint at the Paris Olympics 2024, outlets like the Daily Mail, which sees her as the darling of British athletics, put her on blast.
The 9-second reel shows the Olympian sitting at a table in a public venue, sipping from a glass of water and what could easily be an iced coffee.
In the background, an American-accented woman’s voice can be heard saying:
Image credits: keely.hodgkinson
“And now I want to sit back and relax and enjoy my evening, when all of a sudden, I hear this agitating grating voice.”
To enforce Hodges’ point, she embedded an overlay that read: “When there are Americans in the restaurant” and then captioned the video: “They’re really the loudest in the room.”
She backtracked on her statement when an American Olympian commented on the video
Image credits: keelynhodgkinson
One of the first to respond to the jibe was American Athlete Massai Russel, who scooped gold in the 100-meter hurdles event.
“Heyyy, not too much,” she wrote.
At this, Hodges appeared to have a change of heart and replied with “Ya’ll are the most fun,” applying Americans’ favorite contraction for “you all.”
“She’s right though,” came another answer in the same thread.
Another user, proclaiming to be American, agreed with the statement
Another person recalled a “core memory” of a time in a small restaurant in Portugal. There they happened to be seated near Americans who allegedly spoke so loudly that guests at the writer’s table could not have a conversation of their own.
“And it’s worse when they’re from [New York] or New England (oh the irony). But yes, guilty,” wrote another.
The concurring sentiment can be seen elsewhere, like on YouTube, compliments of Girl Gone London, who talks about how she was described as a quiet kid in school in the United States.
And then she moved to the United Kingdom, where she was often accused of yelling.
A US citizen living abroad gets scolded for “yelling” often
Image credits: keely.hodgkinson
She cited numerous similar observations, including one where a Russian woman found herself in a US coffee shop.
Said Russian woman took to social media with her assessment and received blowback from an American citizen.
According to Bell, Americans not believing they are loud is as prevalent a phenomenon.
In 2018, Canadian journalist Julia Belluz listed a string of contributing factors but arrived at the same conclusion
Image credits: maraleebell
Canadian Journalist Julia Belluz tackled the issue in 2018, already, when she observed how deafening the US restaurants can be.
“I wanted to leave almost as soon as I walked in. My ears were invaded by a deafening din. I felt like a trapped mouse, tortured with loud sounds for the purposes of an experiment.
"The noise was so irritating, I asked my husband whether we should go before our drinks arrived,” she recalled of one such experience.
She offered a list of possibilities and probabilities for the anomaly, ranging from the lack of consideration for acoustics in building designs to the size of the country versus its population and, by extension, a historic necessity to speak louder.
Image credits: Getty/Unsplash
“This has nothing to do with restaurateurs or designers or acoustic engineers. It has to do with Americans — who I believe are a slightly louder people, on average,” Belluz surmised.
The internet was been aware of the stereotype before Keely weighed in on it
