“Aren’t those poisonous?”: Tennis star Taylor Townsend apologizes after mocking “crazy” Chinese food

Taylor Townsend is offering up an apology after making fun of the food she was served while in China for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

Earlier this week, the U.S. tennis star posted a series of Instagram stories expressing her shock about a buffet dinner she attended in the country. First, she showed off some of the dishes themselves, asking, “What the hell?” 

Next, she showed the menu, offering a text overlay that read: “I’mma have to talk to HR.. because what the hell.. turtle and bullfrog is WILD.”

It wasn’t just an ill-advised off-the-cuff reaction to food Townsend didn’t expect. She later posted an additional video admitting she had gone back and looked over her previous stories and was actually even 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 said. “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.”

Townsend faces backlash for her remarks

It was just a few weeks ago that the internet was speaking out in defense of Townsend after an incident at the U.S. Open, where another player spoke negatively of her with racial undertones. At the time, Townsend handled things graciously. Now, people aren’t so thrilled with her, as she has faced backlash for her remarks in both 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 ultimately 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 everyone was thrilled with the apology, with some suggesting it would have been more appropriate for her to actually address the issue directly.

There was also some debate over whether disliking or being disinterested in trying certain cuisines really warrants an apology. Some folks pointed out that wasn’t the issue, and that it was more about specifically how Townsend went about publicly criticizing it. Others offered up a reminder that she honestly just didn’t need to voice her opinion at all—something too many people seem to forget these days.

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

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