“Oh, you really made this a dish.”

Taylor Townsend is providing up an apology after making enjoyable of the meals she was served whereas in China for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

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Earlier this week, the U.S. tennis star posted a collection of Instagram tales expressing her shock a few buffet dinner she attended within the nation. First, she confirmed off a number of the dishes themselves, asking, “What the hell?” 

Next, she confirmed the menu, providing a textual content overlay that learn: “I’mma have to talk to HR.. because what the hell.. turtle and bullfrog is WILD.”

It wasn’t simply an ill-advised off-the-cuff response to meals Townsend didn’t count on. She later posted a further video admitting she had gone again and regarded over her earlier tales and was really much more “shocked.”

“I’m like, these people are literally killing frogs. Bullfrogs? Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that be giving you warts and boils and stuff? And turtles?” she stated. “And the fact that like it’s all stewed up with chilis and peppers and onions. Oh, you really made this a dish. And then you got the sea cucumbers just staring there like… with the noodles. The only things that we eating.”

It was only a few weeks in the past that the web was talking out in protection of Townsend after an incident on the U.S. Open, the place one other participant spoke negatively of her with racial undertones. At the time, Townsend dealt with issues graciously. Now, folks aren’t so thrilled together with her, as she has confronted backlash for her remarks in each the U.S. and China.

“Townsend complaining about being served sea cucumber which is a literal delicacy in Chinese cuisine,” wrote @ninjaga20. “Bullfrog is such a common dish in Asian counties too. These complaints come off as nasty, if you don’t like it just don’t eat it, don’t need to post it online.”

“She didn’t just mock the dish, but also the people that cook and eat it,” added @aceslicemash.

@bf9fd_ chimed in, “How do you travel internationally for work and still so insensitive to other cultures??”

Townsend apologizes

Following the backlash, Townsend finally posted an apology video, acknowledging that she is “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 that I love so much about what I do.”

“I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here,” she continued. “And everyone has been so kind and so gracious, and the things that I said were not representative of that at all. And I just truly wanted to apologize. There’s no excuse, there’s no words, and for me… I will be better. I’m really, really thankful to my country to be able to represent them and to be better and that’s all that I can do.”

Not everybody was thrilled with the apology, with some suggesting it could have been extra acceptable for her to really deal with the difficulty immediately.

There was additionally some debate over whether or not disliking or being disinterested in attempting sure cuisines actually warrants an apology. Some people identified that wasn’t the difficulty, and that it was extra about particularly how Townsend went about publicly criticizing it. Others supplied up a reminder that she actually simply didn’t have to voice her opinion in any respect—one thing too many individuals appear to neglect today.

As one X consumer wrote, “The lesson: everything’s not meant for socials!!”

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