NRL star issues apology for ‘sexist’ post about his pregnant fiancée
Jarrod Wallace has defended himself after his social media post sparked backlash for being “sexist.”
On Sunday, the NRL star, 31, captioned a message from his heavily pregnant fiancee Shannon Wells: “You look really good cooking our little boy, but even better when you wash my clothes.”
But amid the ensuing backlash, Dolphins’ support turned back to social media to address the issue.
Taking to his Instagram Stories on Monday, Wallace captioned an image of himself kissing Wells: “I’m sorry to anyone who may have taken offense at an innocent inside joke between my fiancee [sic] and I, I now know that in the future I have to elaborate all messages better with intended humor.’
“I didn’t mean to, but just to make it clear, it’s an ongoing joke between us,” he continued.
Jarrod Wallace has defended himself after his social media post sparked backlash for being “sexist.” Pictured with fiancé Shannon Wells
“I am a proud father and stepfather to our four beautiful little girls, also the most powerful of my beautiful fiancee and I would never want anyone to have an opinion that I am sexist or promote sexism as a public figure.”
“My fiancée is the heart of our home and goes above and beyond for me and the girls. I love and respect her more than you can imagine.”
“That being said, misinterpreting an inside joke does not authorize strangers to send threatening messages to myself or Shannon, threatening the well-being of our daughters and unborn child.”
“These cases are now being dealt with legally and investigated by the police.”
On Sunday, the NRL prop, 31, shared a photo of himself and Wells attending an event on Instagram with an incredibly tone-deaf caption that enraged his followers
Amid the ensuing backlash, the Dolphins gag took to social media to address the issue
The lengthy post came in response to Jarrod’s allegedly sexist remark about his heavily pregnant fiancé.
After the barrage of criticism, Wallace quickly changed the message to “Take 2 – my beautiful fiancé looks gorgeous cooking our baby boy.”
“Also for anyone worried about my first message, it was an inside joke between us.”
Despite the quick deletion of the sexist comment, the backlash didn’t stop with one person writing, “Sometimes it’s best to keep an inside joke inside.”
Another incentive: “Bring back the first post.”
It’s an inside joke for a reason, keeping it between the two of you. When you’re a public figure, you usually think about what you’re typing before posting,” said another.
“You look really good when you cook our little boy, but even better when you wash my clothes,” he wrote alongside a Smiley Face with Hearts emoji. He was quick to change the message after incorporating the response into, “Take 2 – my beautiful fiancé looks gorgeous cooking our baby boy
The Dolphins player’s partner, Shannon, stepped in to do damage control, saying, “Well, luckily you do the laundry, honey, along with everything else while I’m sick.”
However, the damage was already done when Jarrod was forced to disable comments on his post to prevent further online hate.
It comes just weeks after Jarrod announced he was welcoming his fourth child to a third mother after marrying Courtney Thorpe last June.
Jarrod shares daughters Peyton, seven, and Lara, nine, with a former partner, as well as daughter Kennedy, three, with Courtney.
It comes just weeks after Jarrod announced he was welcoming his fourth child to a third mother following his failed marriage to Courtney Thorpe (right) last June