NASCAR Driver Kasey Kahne Apologizes for Breastfeeding Comments
NASCAR racer Kasey Kahne issued an apology for upset fans over his remarks about breastfeeding in public.
Kahne’s comments, which were quickly removed from Twitter, expressed disgust at a woman who breastfed her baby openly in a supermarket.
According to The Associated Press, Kahne tweeted that he was in a supermarket and when he saw the mother, he no longer “felt like shopping any more or eating.” He also called the act “nasty,” saying he thought he was seeing things when he saw the “hanging” breast.
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Immediately, Kahne’s comments were met with disapproval by his female fans, and a war of the words began.
“You’re being horribly sexist, Kasey Kahne, and your misogyny is really unattractive considering the number of female NASCAR fans,” wrote blogger SB Sarah according to TheBlaze.com.
“If NASCAR is a family sport, one must assume some of those family members were breastfed,” she added.
Some fans came to Kahne’s defense, saying the driver was not arguing against a woman’s right, but against the manner in which she performed the act.
“Lay off of Kasey, people. He is entitled to his opinion. He never once said he was against it, he’s just saying that that was not something he wanted to see while shopping. She should have covered it up!” said another fan.
One Twitter fan, @KnittingRad, got a formal apology from Kahne after he called the fan a “dumb b----.”
“@KnittingRad I wanted to apologize for saying what I said to you yesterday. It was out of line. If you want to talk more please DM me," he wrote on his account.
A formal apology was also issued on Kahne’s Facebook account, where he acknowledged his comments were offensive and that he was not against a “woman’s right to breastfeed wherever she chooses.”
“I understand that my comments regarding breastfeeding posted on Twitter were offensive to some people. For that, I apologize. It was in no way my intention to offend any mother who chooses to breastfeed her child,” it read.
The Facebook message in its entirety can be seen on Khane’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/KaseyKahne.
Thursday, a group of mother’s staged a “nurse-in” in a Montreal, Canada mall after Shannon Smith, 36, complained she was asked to leave the mall when she began to breastfeed her baby, according to The Daily Mail.
Several Target stores were also targeted for nurse-ins Thursday after mother Michelle Hickman complained that she felt harassed by employees while breastfeeding her baby boy. Women organized the protest on Facebook. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the nurse-ins were planned in 35 states across the country.
