Taylor Townsend has issued an apology for comments she made about the food at the Billie Jean King Cup, which prompted a large backlash on social media.
The world No. 1 doubles player posted a series of videos on her Instagram account about the Chinese food available to players at the team event, which is being held in Shenzhen. In one of the videos, Townsend said, “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen … and people eating this,” while filming dishes that featured frogs, turtles, and sea cucumbers. Then, in another, she questioned the safety of eating these foods.
“As I go back and I look … these people are literally killing frogs … bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils and stuff?” She said.
Townsend’s remarks have been heavily criticized in China, especially on social media platforms. According to the AFP News Agency, the hashtag ‘American tennis player publicly insults Chinese food’ was one of the top trending tags on Weibo and has been viewed more than 50 million times.
Following the backlash, Townsend published another video on Wednesday in which she apologised for her remarks.
“I just wanted to come on here and apologise sincerely from the bottom of my heart,” she said.
“I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel all around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things I love so much about what I do.
“I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here and in the tournament. Everyone has been so kind and so gracious and the things that I said are not representative of that at all.”
At the US Open, Townsend was also caught up in controversy during a heated confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko, who said she had “no class” and “no education”. The former French Open champion was accused by some of being racist, but she has categorically denied such accusations.
It is not the first time a player has come under fire for comments or jokes made about China. Last year, Poland’s Magda Linette posted a photo on social media of her travelling from Beijing to Wuhan with the comment ‘the virus database has been updated.’ She was on her way to playing in Wuhan, which was hosting its first event since the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus is said to have originated in the city from a food market. During her match, she encountered some hostility from the crowd.
Townsend will find out how the crowd in Shenzhen reacts to her on Thursday when America plays Kazakhstan in the BJK Cup.
