After smashing Veronica Macedo at UFC Fight Night 129 to win her UFC debut via unanimous decision while earning a Fight of the Night bonus, Andrea “KGB” Lee made an instant positive impression with UFC fans.
Unfortunately for Lee, all that goodwill built up just two weeks ago, went out the window this weekend because of an image dissected by the ever-lurking social media eye.
Lee’s husband, Donny Aaron, was photographed with the UFC women’s flyweight contender enjoying the sun at a local lake. At first glance everything looks like a normal summer picture of a sweet couple, until upon closer review it was found out that Aaron had a swastika tattooed on his left arm.
This revelation sent Twitter into a buzz, and a lot of unexpected heat fell into Lee’s lap.
As a result, the usual easy-going Lee, snapped back on Twitter with a stern post supporting her husband Friday night.
https://twitter.com/JESnowden/status/1002743298174447616
After having a day to reflect on her thoughts and emotions, “KGB” not only went back to social media, but was a guest of the “Slip ’N Dip” podcast where she made her first public statements since the controversy over her husband’s tattoos began. GetMoreSports.com obtained exclusive rights the video, which you can watch below.
“My husband has some embarrassing tattoos due to having a swastika tattooed on his arm, he saw it first and got upset and then I saw it and got upset because people were saying I’m obviously a racist and a Nazi because I’m standing by his side,” Lee told GetMoreSports.com combat sports writer Kendrick Johnson. “When I met Donny, I asked him about the tattoos and he told me his story and I even asked him to cover them up and he said that would make it look worse and I can’t make him do it.
I promise everyone neither one of us are racist and he had a bad past obviously because he got it on his arm. Obviously, he didn’t mean to put all that out for everyone to see or potentially ruin my career. ”
For what it’s worth, Aaron issued a long apology, stating that the tattoos are artwork to tell his story and journey, which includes being incarcerated for a stretch in his 20s. Lee’s husband would go on to apologize to sponsors and fellow fighters for the dark cloud his controversial tattoos have casted over the UFC the last few days.
With the big win over Macedo in her back pocket, Lee is focused on moving forward towards her next challenge in the Octagon, but definitely wanted to clear the air with a warm personal apology to anyone this situation might have offended.
“I’m not use to getting that kind of hate and when I read the first couple of messages I got people calling me white trash, white supremacist and Nazi c*** and all this other kind of stuff and my blood did start to boil, and I was very upset when I made that initial post. People talk about hate and their trolling people on social media which is breeding more hate,” Lee said. “I sincerely want to apologize to anyone I’ve offended because I don’t like offending people and try very hard with how I portray and word things. In the heat of the moment I wasn’t very thoughtful, it wasn’t thought out and I wasn’t very rational as I wasn’t in the right state of mind when I sent that post and I’m very sorry for that because I am very sympathetic to everyone involved.”
GetMoreSports.com obtained exclusive rights from the Slip ‘N Dip podcast to feature the video segment of Lee’s statements regarding the tattoo situation. If you would like to use the video on your site please contact scottcooley@getmoresports.com
