Former world No.1 Naomi Osaka has told journalist Megyn Kelly to ‘do better’ after she was criticised for appearing on a series of magazine covers.
On Monday Kelly, who is a former presenter on Fox News with over 2.4M followers on Twitter, commented on a tweet published by Clay Travis that read: “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 issue.” Travis’ comment was made in reference to Osaka recently skipping interviews with the media due to her mental health. The four-time Grand Slam champion revealed during the French Open that she has been suffering from depression and social anxiety since 2018 before opting to take a break from the sport.
Weighing in online, Kelly retweeted Travis’ comment and added ‘”Let’s not forget the cover of (& interview in) Vogue Japan and Time Mag!’ Prompting Osaka to hit back in a tweet which has since been deleted.
“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 wrote. “Instead your first reaction is to hop on here and spew negativity, do better Megan [sic].”
Kelly has since claimed that she has been blocked by the tennis star on social media and refuses to apologise. Instead, she went on to imply that Osaka doesn’t like answering questions from the media which she can’t control.
Osaka wasn’t the only person from the world of tennis to be involved in an argument with Kelly. Multiple Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova tweeted her support for the Japanese player by saying to the journalist – ‘You have no idea what you are talking about. But go ahead- take your shot. It missed badly!!!’.
Navratilova’s intervention then resulted in a separate argument with Kelly where she accused her of calling for riots related to the Black Lives Matter movement. As for Osaka, Navratilova was accused of double standards related to a previous social media post which she has since deleted.
Osaka will return to action next week at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
