United States figure skater Alysa Liu learned a hard lesson on Wednesday. The 20-year-old’s fame skyrocketed during her very memorable stint in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. It was the kind of fame Liu had never experienced before.
Liu took the sports world by storm with her awe-inspiring performances in the Winter Games. She came home with two gold medals — one in the team event and a second in the individual competition.
A testament to Liu’s immense popularity is her Instagram followers. Before the Olympics, she had over 300,000 followers. As of writing, that number has exploded to 7.2 million, and counting.
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Liu made a couple of major appearances in New York City this week. This included guest spots on some of the most iconic TV shows, including the “Today” show and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Liu drew a lot of praise for her actions on “The Tonight Show.” A photographer from the show shared how Liu was so genuinely pleasant. Fans also commended the Oakland, California native after she had a friendly exchange with the paparazzi.
Liu, however, was at the center of a troubling airport incident. She took to social media to share bad news about overzealous fans.
“So I land at the airport, & there’s crowd waiting at the exit with cameras & things for me to sign,” Liu wrote on Wednesday night in an Instagram story. “All up in personal space. Someone chased me to my car bruh. Please do not do that to me 😭”
Liu is usually very bubbly and amiable on social media — just like how she is when fans see her in interviews. She took on a totally different tone on Wednesday night, though, as she shared her disturbing experience. Liu pleaded to her fans to respect her personal space and to not follow her around.
Fame has a price, and Liu learned first-hand that her popularity can also lead to untoward incidents. Unfortunately, this is a harsh reality she will have to deal with as she makes more major public appearances in the coming weeks.