Ben Askren has been forced to respond to "dumb" fans who criticised him for comments on his wife's appearance.
The ex-UFC star is known in the fighting world for his wrestling skills , having previously reigned as champion in other promotions ONE and Bellator. Askren retired from competing in the octagon in 2019 aged 35 after losing back-to-back outings including an infamous brutal KO defeat against Jorge Masvidal.
Since then Askren has remained in the public eye with his profile boosted further after making the switch to the boxing ring, where he was defeated by YouTube star Jake Paul. In a staggering social media post, Askren attempted to salute his wife, in which he tweeted: "I’ve seen some guys posting on social media lately about how they are winning because their wife is attractive.
"While I don’t disagree I think finding a wife who is a great mother is 500 percent more important! Thanks @Abamaby for being such a great mum to our kids." Many fans elected to interpret that as an insult to his wife's appearance which became a widespread view, seeing the post attract 19 million hits on Twitter.
Fans flocked to state their criticism, with one writing: "This is accidentally the most Peter Griffin [Family Guy] spouse compliment on the internet lol." Another added: "Ben, please delete this. I get what you meant. We all get what you meant. But the next 96 hours of your life are gonna be HELL because she won’t get it. Just delete it."
One fan went on an even longer rant, adding: "Wait you haven’t deleted this yet? Are you still married? Does she have twitter? Does she know you inadvertently called her unattractive? I have so many questions." A final fan joked: "She is about to file for divorce."
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However Askren hit back after being trolled, writing: "For those of you who are too dumb to realise multiple things can be true at once. My wife is both very hot and a great mother. Being a great mother is way more important as I originally stated."
Askren's wife Amy then responded herself by backing her husband, concluding: "Haha its okay I know what he's trying to say. And it's a much better compliment than 'being pretty'. I hope our daughters aspire to love people well and not seek their value in the way they look. Thanks @Benaskren. And I love you for more than your pretty face too."
