UFC’s Tony Kelley says comments while cornering Andrea Lee weren’t racist, blames ‘cancel culture’ for backlash
Tony Kelley has addressed his controversial comments made during the UFC on ESPN 36 broadcast.
The UFC bantamweight, who was at the event working as a cornerman for Andrea Lee, was under fire on Saturday night for what he told Lee in between rounds during her women’s flyweight bout against Brazil’s Viviane Araujo.
“That’s what they’re going to do – they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians,” Kelley told Lee. “They’re going to f*cking cheat like that.”
— Sober Costa 🍷 (@EraserBy) May 15, 2022
Soon after, reactions from fighters, fans, and media came pouring in regards to Kelley’s comments. The 35-year-old addressed the situation on early Sunday morning, claiming his comments weren’t racist and he doesn’t care if people perceive them that way.
“Cancel Culture is real,” Kelley wrote on Twitter. “What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf (I don’t give a f*ck). So many people quick to say racist..that shits getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”
Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf. So many people quick to say racist..that shits getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.
— Tony Kelley (@TonyKelleyMMA) May 15, 2022
Lee went on to lose a unanimous decision to Araujo on Saturday night, snapping a two-fight win streak. Lee has not publicly commented on the fight or Kelley’s comments at the time of writing.
Kelley is currently scheduled to fight Adrian Yanez on June 18 at UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas. He last fought at UFC 269 in December where he stopped Randy Costa.
