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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

What did Kellie Harrington tweet about immigration?

Kellie Harrington released a statement on Monday night saying that she does "want to engage in politically sensitive matters".

It came after she refused to answer questions during an interview on Off The Ball about a tweet she shared last October.

The Olympic gold medallist retweeted a video from GB News five months ago which featured Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek speaking on the death of a 12-year-old girl in France.

READ MORE: Kellie Harrington refuses to answer anti-immigration question after controversial tweet

In the clip, Vlaardingerbroek said: “I woke up this morning to see the news of another young European girl who was sacrificed on the altar of mass migration. We have four people in custody, all migrants coming from Algeria.

“This is the 12th girl I believe in France that has been killed this year by an immigrant and that’s just France.”

Harrington commented at the time: “Very, very sad. A powerful message from Eva Vlaardingerbroek. Our own leaders need to take a listen to this. She believes this is the 12th girl in France this year who has been killed by an immigrant.. And that’s just France.”

Harrington, who was competing at the European Boxing Championships in Montenegro at the time, took the post down minutes after tweeting it, stating that she didn't "need the hate".

Kellie Harrington (©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo)

When one person stated that most violence towards women is committed by people known to them and not to blame immigration, Harrington replied: "Of their own nationality. It is not right."

The 33-year-old then posted: "Deleted and walked away. As someone rightly suggested, thanks. Don't need the hate post! But my god, that poor poor soul. Absolutely heart breaking, just a wee girl, her whole life ahead of her. My god rest her little soul, gone far to young, at the hands of cruel evil people."

Harrington was quizzed on the tweet during Monday's interview on Off The Ball, but refused to answer the questions.

She then released a statement late on Monday night, which read: "Last October, I reposted a tweet of a video from a journalist (whom I did not know at the time) detailing the story of a young girl in France who was kidnapped and murdered. Moved by the horrific circumstances of this story, I reposted a video of this journalist together with a copy of a quote. My thoughts in that moment were of that young girl and not any political opinion.

"Having realised the significance of my tweet and the hurt caused to a number of people I immediately deleted the tweet. I engaged privately with a number of people who were hurt by my tweet and I apologised to them.

"As a sporting role model, I am aware that I need to be mindful of what I do and say. I reacted with my emotions and without the facts. How this came across is not reflective of me as a person or my thoughts.

"I did an interview today during which I was caught off guard. I was not prepared for a question unrelated to sport and my response to the question asked was not definitive.

"I do not want to engage in politically sensitive matters.

"What I want to make clear is, throughout my life both in boxing & outside boxing, I have been lucky enough to have had many multicultural influences and this continues to shape me to this day. This is something that shapes me as the person I am today and something I am very grateful for. The people closest to me will attest to this.

"Since the interview, I have seen some comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear. As a sportswomen I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusion and diversity."

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