Former NBA star Dwight Howard made headlines this week for the wrong reasons.
Howard, who currently plays professional basketball in Taiwan, recently filmed a promo for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the video, he referred to Taiwan as a country.
“Hello everyone, I’m Dwight Howard and since I came to Taiwan I’ve gained a whole new appreciation of this country,” the former NBA All-Star said. “This place makes me feel so much love and I experience so much hospitality with a friendly and great living environment with such a great diverse culture.”
Howard received a ton of backlash for calling Taiwan its own country. He then issued an apology for offending people in China.
“If I offended anyone in China I apologize. It was not my intention to harm anyone with what I said in the commercial,” Howard said. “I have the utmost respect for Chinese people and utmost respect for Taiwanese people, so it was never my intent to disrespect nobody.”
Basketball fans in the United States weren’t too pleased that Howard immediately apologized for what appeared to be an honest mistake.
Coward Howard https://t.co/s0SMAM8aF7
— Uncle Sam (@UncleSa62256474) May 13, 2023
“If you legitimately say this you are bought and paid for,” one fan tweeted.
If you legitimately say this you are bought and paid for. https://t.co/r1gVVf2h15
— todd (@tsturk8) May 12, 2023
Another fan said, “Come on, Dwight, don’t be this guy.”
Come on, Dwight, don't be this guy https://t.co/sjYgwt7S14
— Gary Collard (@LakerGMC) May 12, 2023
To this day, China still claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
We’ll see if Howard’s apology defuses this tense situation.
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