US tennis star Taylor Townsend is facing backlash for her 'classless' verdict on Chinese cuisine.
The 29-year-old, who found herself at the center of a racism storm during the US Open last month after opponent Jelena Ostapenko attacked her for having 'no class' and 'no education,' is in Shenzhen, China, for the Billie Jean King Cup this week.
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals are being held in Asia for the first time since 198,9, with Townsend making the American roster, alongside Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, McCartney Kessl, and Hailey Baptiste.
However, Townsend has sparked fury of her own ahead of the USA’s quarterfinal tie after she shared her distaste for the traditional Chinese food served at the tournament's gala.
The doubles World No. 1 shared a series of Instagram stories sharing her surprised and disgusted reaction to the specialty dishes on offer at the event, including sea cucumber, turtle, and bullfrog.
Townsend first shared a video of herself and teammate Baptiste examining the buffet before she zoomed in on the sea cucumber, asking, 'What the hell?'
Alongside a separate clip of the dish, Townsend wrote: 'This is the craziest thing I've ever seen .. and people eating this.'
The tennis player later returned to her Instagram to expand on her criticism, delivering a brutal review of the cuisine.
'I’m honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet,' she said. 'As I go back and I look… these people are literally killing frogs… bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils and stuff?
'And the fact that it’s all stewed up with chillies, peppers, and onions. Like, oh, you really made this a dish. All in all, I’d give this a solid 2 out of 10 so far, because this is crazy.'
Tennis fans were left outraged by Townsend's comments, with many branding them 'super ignorant' on social media.
'This is very offensive, to mock other people's cultural food,' one fan wrote on X.
'Won’t defend Taylor here, clearly offensive and shows a lack of understanding there are different cultures other than the USA…,' one supporter admitted, as a disappointed third added: 'Damn Taylor, you can do better.'
Meanwhile, another asked: 'Taylor Townsend calling Chinese people "these people" while making fun of/being disgusted at Chinese food and delicacies. Is that racist?'
'I’ve watched stories on Taylor Townsend's IG. It was disgusting,' another furious social media user posted. 'DO NOT MOCK OTHER’S CULTURE!! If you don’t want to eat something, just leave it. Nobody forced you to eat them.'
'Oh, Taylor… all the time I’ve spent fighting people on your behalf, and you turn around and post this ignorant s***,' a seemingly defeated fan fumed.
Another agreed, chiming by saying: 'ignorant and disrespectful, I'm disappointed in her ngl.'
