American tennis star Taylor Townsend has issued a public apology after sparking outrage on social media over comments she made about traditional Chinese cuisine while competing at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen.
Townsend, 29, currently the world’s top-ranked doubles player, had posted a series of Instagram videos reacting to dishes featuring bullfrog, soft-shell turtle and sea cucumber, calling the selection “wild” and joking that she would “have to talk to HR” after seeing what was on offer.
In one now-deleted clip, she said: “These people are literally killing frogs… bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous?
"Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils and stuff?
Taylor Townsend is currently the world's top-ranked doubles player
|GETTY
"And turtles?... All in all I’d give this like a solid two out of ten so far, because this is crazy.”
Another video showed Townsend alongside fellow American Hailey Baptiste making fun of a sea cucumber dish at a buffet.
While the comments may have been intended light-heartedly, they quickly went viral, drawing criticism on both English-language platforms and Chinese social media site Weibo.
The phrase “American tennis player publicly insults Chinese food” began trending in China, with many users urging the player to respect local traditions.
“When you go overseas, respect the local customs and culture. You can choose not to eat it, but there is no need to belittle our food,” one widely-shared Weibo post read.
Another wrote: “It’s really offensive to mock other people’s cultural food.”
Townsend responded on Wednesday with a filmed statement on Instagram, apologising for her remarks and acknowledging the privilege of being able to travel internationally as part of her career.
“There’s no excuse, there’s no words and, for me, I will be better,” she said.
Taylor Townsend mocked Chinese food on social media
|“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.”
She added that she had enjoyed “the most amazing experience” at the tournament despite the controversy.
The backlash comes less than a month after Townsend was involved in a heated on-court exchange with Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko, who accused her of having “no class” and “no education”.
Ostapenko later apologised, saying her words referred to tennis etiquette and not race, but conceded that they “could have offended many people beyond the tennis court”.
Taylor Townsend was recently involved in a furious row with Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open
|GETTY
Townsend and Team USA are scheduled to face Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals on Thursday, where she is expected to play a key role in the doubles.
The incident has reignited debate around how athletes engage with different cultures while travelling on tour, with some commentators calling for governing bodies to provide better cultural awareness training to players competing abroad.