Australian competitive swimmer Stephanie Rice has been dumped as the face of luxury car brand Jaguar after she called the South African rugby team “f*ggots” on her Twitter account, Australia’s Herald Sun reports.“We wish Stephanie success for the future,” said Kevin Goult, general manager of Jaguar Australia when confirming that the company had discontinued its relationship with Rice.
Rice, who tweeted “Suck on that f*ggots” after watching Australia’s Wallabies beat South Africa on Saturday, later apologized for the comment and said she understood why Jaguar made the decision it did. “I did not mean to cause offense and I apologize,” she said Sunday.
Openly gay Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham took to his Facebook page Monday morning to defend Rice, writing: “I know a lot of ppl are upset by what Steph Rice said. I agree, it was offensive & very thoughtless, but being friends with her for 2yrs, I know she is not homophobic. She meant no malice, & she has apologized for her careless comment posted in the excitement of the moment. That’s enough for me to forgive a friend."
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