French DJ Martin Solveig has apologised for asking the first female Ballon D’Or winner, Ada Hegerberg, if she could “twerk” live on stage.
Martin received huge backlash for his comment, and in response, the 42-year-old DJ shared a video on Twitter admitting he was “astonished” by the reaction.
“Of course I didn’t want to offend anyone … This was a joke, probably a bad one and I want to apologise for the one I may have offended,” he said.
Martin captioned the video, “Sincere apologies to the one I may have offended. My point was : I don’t invite women to twerk but dance on a Sinatra song. Watch the full sequence People who have followed me for 20 years know how respectful I am especially with women.”
Sincere apologies to the one I may have offended. My point was : I don’t invite women to twerk but dance on a Sinatra song. Watch the full sequence People who have followed me for 20 years know how respectful I am especially with women pic.twitter.com/pnZX8qvl4R
— Martin Solveig (@martinsolveig) December 3, 2018
Meanwhile Ada, whose goals drove Lyon to a record fifth Champions League title, played down the ‘twerk’ comment by saying, “He came to see me after and apologised. The Ballon d’Or is the most important thing.”
“I am sad if people thought about the situation like that,” she added.
Martin also tweeted: “I explained to Ada the buzz and she told me she understood it was a joke. Nevertheless my apologise to anyone who may have been offended. Most importantly congratulations to Ada.”
I explained to @AdaStolsmo the buzz and she told me she understood it was a joke. Nevertheless my apologies to anyone who may have been offended. Most importantly congratulations to Ada pic.twitter.com/DATdg0TfQk
— Martin Solveig (@martinsolveig) December 3, 2018