Since withdrawing from both the French Open and Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka received support from sports fans and mental health advocates worldwide. The tennis champion is one of the most talked-about figures in the sports world as she’s been poised to take the titles for several major competitions, but the introverted, soft-spoken 23-year-old recently came forward to say that she would be taking a break to focus on her mental health, as bein in the spotlight can take its toll.
The response to the news, for the most part, has been positive as people understood the importance of not pushing oneself too hard, especially as we see more stories of entertainers and sports figures committing suicide, self-harming, or turning to drugs as a way to cope, often resulting in overdoses.
Recently, Osaka was featured on several magazine covers as she’s spoken more in-depth about her experiences, but two political commentators decided it was the perfect time to attack Osaka’s business moves. Clay Travis, a political and sports commentator, sparked the social media controversy after he denounced Osaka on Twitter.
“Since saying she’s too introverted to talk to the media after tennis matches, Naomi Osaka has launched a reality show, a Barbie, and now is on the cover of the SI swimsuit issues,” Travis wrote. Former Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly retweeted the post and chided, “Let’s not forget the cover of (& interview in) Vogue Japan and Time Mag!”
The posts didn’t go ignored by Osaka who defended herself. “Seeing as you’re a journalist I would’ve assumed you would take the time to research what the lead times are for magazines, if you did that you would’ve found out I shot all of my covers last year,” Osaka said. “Instead your first reaction is to hop on here and spew negativity, do better Megan.“
That was about all Osaka wanted to say to Kelly because she quickly blocked her, however, that didn’t stop Kelly from trolling the tennis champ about her social anxiety and mental health struggles.
“[Osaka] blocked me while taking a shot at me (guess she’s only tough on the courts),” Kelly stated. “She is apparently arguing that she shot her many covers b/4 publicly claiming she was too socially anxious to deal w/press. Truth is she just doesn’t like Qs she can’t control. Admit it.” It didn’t take long for Kelly to become a public pariah as she was called insensitive—among other things. Kelly has continued to defend her remarks while calling out “Twitter trolls.”
Piers Morgan, who also harshly criticized Naomi Osaka when she first revealed her mental health struggles, jumped on the bandwagon to say he, too, was blocked by the sports star. Kelly was previously fired from NBC amid her Blackface controversy and most recently made controversial statements regarding the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol. Read through it all below.