Sexism strikes again, and unfortunately veteran French DJ Martin Solveig is behind the offense this time around. Recently, the annual award presented by France Football titled the Ballon d’Or, was bestowed to 23-year-old Ada Stolsmo Hegerberg, who is the first woman to have won the award. The Norwegian soccer player is regarded as one of the best female footballers in the world. She has also previously won BBC’s Best Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2017 and Norwegian Sports Person of the year in 2016.
Martin Solveig was in attendance at the award show, and after Hegerberg won, his next question, for whatever reason, was whether the soccer player knew how to twerk. Twitter user @InsafOo captured the moment perfectly, and it has since gone viral.
Martin Solveig : enfin un ballon d’or féminin, il était temps
2 minutes later mdr :#BallonDor pic.twitter.com/W6IJ6286nR— nul. (@InsafOo) December 3, 2018
Solveig has been quick to respond to the public backlash to his question, stating the award’s recipient knew Solveig’s comment was made in jest. The clip of her reaction seems to say otherwise.
I explained to @AdaStolsmo the buzz and she told me she understood it was a joke. Nevertheless my apologies to anyone who may have been offended. Most importantly congratulations to Ada pic.twitter.com/DATdg0TfQk
— Martin Solveig (@martinsolveig) December 3, 2018
In response to the continued growing backlash, the producer tweeted again.
Sincere apologies to the one I may have offended. My point was : I don’t invite women to twerk but dance on a Sinatra song. Watch the full sequence People who have followed me for 20 years know how respectful I am especially with women pic.twitter.com/pnZX8qvl4R
— Martin Solveig (@martinsolveig) December 3, 2018
Martin Solveig’s response seems genuine — he attributes the awkward gaffe to linguistic and cultural barriers, and without much context from the moment captured on social media, it is hard to say if his intention was legitimately misogynistic in nature. Nonetheless, his choice of words and timing seem impeccably bad here, landing him amid some deserved social heat for seemingly ruining Hegerberg’s moment of honor.
Photo Credit: Independent
Source: dancingastronaut.com
