M&F beforehand reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger had courted controversy at his traditional bodybuilding present this yr throughout commentary, by labeling the board shorts worn within the Mens Physique Division as “bogus.” Now the trophy winner Ali Bilal has responded and in contrast to The Terminator star, it appears he gained’t be again.
“It’s been 5 days since I gained the present, and when you ask me how I really feel, if I’m pleased with the win, in fact I’m,” stated Bilal in a heartfelt video posted to his 1.3 million Instagram followers on March 8, 2025. “However it’s simply (given) me a little bit of combined emotions, the present, as a result of every thing I see on social media, every thing that’s happening, like Arnold saying on present day that Males’s Physique was (a) silly division and I don’t know why the IFBB created it, it simply killed the entire comfortable vibes for me, I don’t know why. So, I’ve determined this was my final ever Arnold Basic. I’m not going to go to a present the place my division, the place I get handled with disrespect.”
Who’s Ali Bilal?
Ali Bilal is an immensely standard Afghanistan-born bodybuilder and was the winner of the 2025 Arnold Basic Mens Physique title. In 2024, he was runner-up on the Mr Olympia competitors to Ryan Terry. As one of many flag bearers for his division, Bilal has taken umbrage to Arnold’s dismissal of his division.
Schwarzenegger’s most up-to-date negativity in the direction of the Mens Physique Division went down through the 2025 Arnold Basic reside stream, when he criticized the group throughout commentary on the present for sporting longer shorts than these within the Open or Basic ranks. “The attention-grabbing factor is in addition they have actually well-developed thighs — a whole lot of these guys — so I don’t know why they make them put on these lengthy shorts,” he stated. “For me, that’s bogus.”
Bilal has not solely taken situation with Arnold’s angle, however his prize cash as well. “I don’t assume it’s truthful that (the) Open Division get $500,000, Basic will get 60K, and the Mens Physique Division solely get $10,000. It’s not truthful. We prep as arduous because the traditional guys or the open guys, we practice as arduous, deliver good conditioning, deliver good physique. In the event you simply go to (the) Center East, or no matter Asian nations, when you see how standard Mens Physique is, it’s loopy.”
He continues: “It brings a lot cash. Simply see my attain. You already know, once I put up a video, or some Open man posts a video, nothing towards anybody, it will get a loopy attain. It’s a really, very fashionable division.” Bilal believes that in distinction, he has been handled with respect at different huge reveals. “Think about you prepping for 16-weeks and then you definitely go to a present after which somebody inform(s) you, ‘Oh, who invited you right here? We don’t even such as you’. It doesn’t really feel good I believe.”
Ali Balal Says He Gained’t Be Again
Balal additional confirmed his intentions to not be again on the Arnold Basic in his accompanying caption, taking situation with the truth that Schwarzenegger used the phrase “bogus” to explain Males’s Physique. “In the event that they actually wished to see legs, they need to have invited the (212 Division) as an alternative of Mens Physique,” he wrote. “I wasn’t even planning on doing the present within the first place, however the workforce reached out to me asking me to compete. In return we get disrespected for $25000. I felt like I wanted to come back out and spotlight this, since I gained the present and nobody else would communicate their thoughts.”
The prize cash for Mens Physique on the 2024 Olympia was additionally nicely beneath that of the Open and Basic Divisions however clocked in at $50,000, double that of The Arnold Basic. Bilal’s followers have been fast to help their outspoken hero. “This can be a daring stance just a few can take,” wrote one follower. He was additionally backed up by notable bodybuilders together with Erin Banks. “My final yr as nicely,” he wrote. “They must do higher.” M&F will hold you updated because the story develops.
