Lewis Hamilton was scrutinised to the core for his inappropriate comments on a video that featured his nephew wearing a princess dress for Christmas. Hamilton was quick to pass a judgement, saying ‘boys don’t wear dresses’, a statement that caught fire on social media, accusing Hamilton of being stereotypical and sexist.
His Instagram video was along these lines:
“I’m so sad right now. Look at my nephew,” says Hamilton as the camera focuses on the boy.
“Why are you wearing a princess dress? Is this what you got for Christmas?” he asks, as the boy nods delightedly.
“Why did you ask for a princess dress for Christmas?” he goes on.
“Because it’s pretty,” the boy replies enthusiastically, waving the pink wand.
“Boys don’t wear princess dresses!” says Hamilton.
Hamilton immediately apologised on Twitter, accepting the fact that his comments were inappropriate and apologising to any and everyone who were affected by it.
“Yesterday I was playing around with my nephew and realised that my words were inappropriate so I removed the post. I meant no harm and did not mean to offend anyone at all. I love that my nephew feels free to express himself as we all should.” Hamilton said in apology on Twitter.
He then went onto delete all of his previous posts on Twitter and Instagram, much to the shock of his 10 million+ followers, and took a long hiatus from social media.
During Mercedes’ car launch, Hamilton was questioned about his ‘new social media’ strategy. He replied saying that it was always supposed to be like that.
He also accepted that he would now have to be a little careful with the kind of things he puts up on social media as he is generally a very open person.
“We had already planned to start a clean slate at the beginning of this year,” Hamilton said.
“It just so happened it was an opportunistic time to change it.
“Moving forward, there is a balance you have to strike.
“I have been very open with my life for several years now and it is always difficult make a change because I quite like being open.
“But we are in a strange time in the world where things are magnified more than in previous years. It is a critical time for the world.
“I will continue to show what I am doing. It is just being a little bit more strategic in what I do show and don’t show. It is great. It is again still a gateway to be able to connect with my fans which I am not able to do on a race weekend.
“It will continue to be a part of my life but how deep I go we will see.” he added.
Hamilton was pretty upbeat about the upcoming season and the new Mercedes car. He also spoke about his new deal and that he wanted to continue with Mercedes for as long as possible.
