‘Do Better’: Naomi Osaka Blocks Megyn ‘Blackface’ Kelly On Twitter For Trolling Her Anxiety
Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Megyn Kelly has finally been silenced on social media after tennis star Naomi Osaka blocked the disgraced former TV anchor from following her on Twitter. The deliberate action came after Kelly, who once openly questioned on national TV why blackface is wrong, attacked Osaka for being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue.
By Kelly’s clearly misguided logic, Osaka — who in May decided against playing in the French Open because appearing at press conferences triggers her anxiety — should never have posed for the magazine’s cover if interactions with the media are truly as stressful as she says they are.
Of course, it’s no one’s business — especially not Kelly’s — how Osaka chooses to showcase herself, whether on the tennis court or on a magazine cover. Still, Kelly, bordering on cyber-bullying Osaka, insisted without proof that the tennis star had an anti-media agenda and wanted to avoid being asked anything.
“Truth is she just doesn’t like Qs she can’t control,” Kelly tweeted without any evidence of her claims. “Admit it.”
Poor @naomiosaka blocked me while taking a shot at me (guess she’s only tough on the courts). 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. pic.twitter.com/izyRzOrUVm
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) July 19, 2021
It seems like Kelly is taking Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open and not speak with the press rather personally instead of understanding the rationale behind such a decision: to prioritize her mental health.
After all, Osaka has been openly addressing her battle with depression since 2018, explaining that she is an introvert who does not like speaking in public.
Nowhere in Osaka’s multiple statements about her decision to withdraw from the French Open was Kelly ever directly referenced. That is, until Monday, when Osaka posted and then deleted a tweet accurately calling out Kelly for not understanding certain industry standards in magazine journalism. Osaka said she posed for Sports Illustrated and other magazine covers well before she made her announcement at the French Open.
MORE: ‘Be Better’: Why The Burden Should Be On Sports Writers, Not Athletes, During Press Conferences
“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 tweeted. “Instead your first reaction is to hop on here and spew negativity, do better Megan.”
The tweet was soon deleted. It is unclear when Osaka blocked Kelly, but Kelly tweeted a screenshot that she was indeed blocked by the tennis star on Twitter.
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is just the latest magazine cover which Osaka graces the cover.
First Haitian and Japanese woman on the cover
pic.twitter.com/SLcKNSrSkH
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) July 19, 2021
On Sunday, she also tweeted a photo of herself featured on the cover of Vogue’s issue dedicated to women in sports.
Vogue Hong Kong
pic.twitter.com/BSzLrdQNZw
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) July 19, 2021
Osaka is also the subject of a new documentary that was released last week on Netflix.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) July 16, 2021
Osaka’s calculated steps show that she is in total control of her portrayal in mass media.
Kelly’s tweets, on the other hand, suggest she is a spoiled, privileged member of the media who lashes out when she can’t get her way — the same type of journalist by which Osaka said she does not like being interrogated.
Oh, and there’s also the unavoidable elephant in the room with Kelly’s apparent anti-Black racist agenda, as demonstrated by her willful ignorance about blackface during the airting of the “TODAY” show in 2018. NBC quickly replaced Kelly with an all-Black lineup of anchors.
Since then, Kelly has more than proven herself to be at most a white supremacist and at least a card-carrying Karen.
Meanwhile, Osaka is gearing up to represent her home country of Japan in the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she is likely the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal.
SEE ALSO:
Naomi Osaka Is Reclaiming Her Time
From Trayvon Martin To Blackface: Megyn Kelly’s Most Racist Moments
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