Lee spoke with PopSugar, and confirmed to CNN that she was with a group of friends in Los Angeles in October, when a car drove by and started shouting racial slurs to the group.
The members of the group Lee was with were all of Asian descent.
One of the passengers of the car sprayed Lee’s arm with pepper spray before the car drove away.
“I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off,” Lee told PopSugar. “I didn’t do anything to them, and having the reputation, it’s so hard because I didn’t want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen.”
Anti-Asian hate crimes have risen in the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN reported. There have been more than 9,000 incidents from March 2020 to June 2021, according to Stop AAPI Hate and ESPN.
One incident happened in metro Atlanta in March when a gunman shot and killed eight people at three spas, including Young’s Asian Massage parlor in Cherokee County.
Robert Aaron Long agreed to plead guilty in the spa shootings, WSBTV reported in August. He will serve four life sentences without parole for pleading guilty to killing Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis decided to charge Long with hate crimes based on race and gender, WSBTV reported.
“I don’t want our victims to get lost. These were all women who worked and lived in our communities. They were mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, friends,” Willis said in August.
Young is also accused of killing Yong Ae Yue, 63; Soon Chung Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51, at two spas in Fulton County, Georgia, WSBTV reported. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in September, WSBTV reported.
Lee was the first Hmong American to represent the U.S. at the Olympics and won gold in the individual all-around in Tokyo, ESPN reported.
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Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of United States, reacts as she poses for a picture after winning the gold medal in the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Gold medalist Sunisa Lee of the United States displays her medal for the artistic gymnastics women's all-around at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around From left to right, silver medallist Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, Gold medallist Sunisa Lee of the Unites States, and bronze medallist Angelina Melnikova, of the Russian Olympic Committee, celebrate during the medal ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women's all-around at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, embraces teammate Jade Carey after winning the gold medal in the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around From left, United States gymnast Grace McCallum, Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner stands for their national anthem as teammate Sunisa Lee receives the gold medal for the artistic gymnastics women's all-around at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, performs on the floor during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, embraces her coach Jess Graba after performing on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, finishes on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, performs on the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
