U.S. tennis star Taylor Townsend wasn’t prepared for some of the food she would be offered while taking part in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals tournament in Shenzen, China.
She apparently was also not expecting the backlash she faced after she posted her criticism of some of the local dishes — which included bullfrogs, turtles, sea cucumbers and, in her words, “an animal lung” that was “sliced up” and on a skewer — on Instagram.
Those posts have since been removed, and Townsend has posted a video on her Instagram Story in which the world’s top-ranked doubles player apologizes “sincerely from the bottom of my heart.”
“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 that I love so much about what I do,” Townsend said.
“I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here … and everyone has been so kind and so gracious. And the things that I said were not representative of that at all.”
The 29-year-old Townsend’s name was in the headlines during last month’s U.S. Open. After Taylor defeated Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the singles competition, the players appeared to have a heated discussion.
Afterward, Townsend told reporters that Ostapenko “told me I have no education, no class.”
Ostapenko later apologized on her Instagram Story and explained that English isn’t her native language. “So when I said education,” Ostapenko wrote, “I was speaking only about what I believe [is] tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court.”
Townsend is one of six players representing the U.S. in the international team tournament in Shenzen. Earlier this week, she posted video of some of the food she and her teammates had been offered, apparently as part of a buffet. She also added a video of herself from later in the evening in which she criticized some of the offerings.
“I’m honestly just so shocked I like what I saw in the dinner buffet … These people are literally killing frogs. Bull frogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Like, aren’t those the ones that be giving you warts and boils and stuff?” Townsend said. “And turtles? And the fact that, like, it’s all stewed up with, like, chilies and peppers and onions and like, ‘Oh, you really made this a dish?’
“And then you got the sea cucumbers just staring there, like with the noodles, the only thing that we eat. So all in all, gotta give this like a solid 2 out of 10 so far, because this is crazy.”
One portion of the video, which showed portions of the buffet spread, featured the caption, “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen … and people are eating this,” followed by emojis of a melting face and a face screaming in fear.
The comments went viral on Chinese social media, with many commenters slamming Townsend as culturally insensitive.
Townsend’s apology comes as the U.S. prepares to face Kazakhstan on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
“I just truly wanted to apologize,” Townsend said in the new video. “There’s no excuse, there’s no words, and for me, I just — I will be better.”