Russian figure skater tweets racist Obama photo
Russian figure skating legend-turned-lawmaker Irina Rodnina was honored at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, it was just revealed that Rodnina posted a racist, doctored photo of President Barack and Michelle Obama on Twitter just five months ago.
Rodnina is currently a member of parliament of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia political party. The tweet, which has since been deleted, caused a stir when Rodnina first posted it on Sept. 13, 2013.
The photo depicted the Obamas sitting together at an event, the president with his mouth apparently full of food. In the photo Rodnina tweeted, an image of a banana had been superimposed onto the foreground of the photo, making it seem as though the Obamas were staring intently at the piece of fruit. In some parts of Europe, including Russia, it’s common for black soccer players to be insulted with fruit and monkey sounds by fans at matches.
Rodnina tweeted the photo without any added commentary, then deleted it soon after backlash flared.
When asked about the tweet shortly after it posted, Rodnina implied the criticism was a conspiracy organized by an opposing political party, according to The Guardian, and posted a follow-up tweet that read, “Freedom of speech is freedom of speech, and you should answer for your own hang-ups.”
