- Aspinall asked Drama if she had ever been fucked by an MMA fighter before
- Drama started working for the UFC this year doing funny interviews with fighters
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MMA reporter and media personality Nina Marie Daniele (known as Nina Drama) defended interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall amid criticism for asking her a blatantly sexual question during an interview.
Daniele, 35, and Aspinall, 30, filmed a segment ahead of UFC 295 in New York City last week. A clip from the 24-minute interview in which Aspinall asked Daniele if she had been fucked by an MMA fighter before quickly went viral on social media. As a result, Aspinall faced backlash online from fans who accused him of sexual harassment.
‘I absolutely love Tom Aspinall’s humour!’ Daniel said in a tweet. “The reason he asked me that crazy question is because we follow each other on IG and (he) sees all the crazy, weird questions that my followers ask me.”
Daniele explained how the clip was taken out of context and encouraged fans to watch the entire interview. Daniele also praised Aspinall for his “great personality” and pointed out the difference between American and British humor.
“Aspinall is funny AF and he didn’t offend me at all!” Daniel added. “He was trying to get a reaction out of me and he got it right, lol. I asked him some crazy questions too!’
Nina Drama (R) defended Tom Aspinall (L) after he asked her a blatantly sexual question
Daniele explained how the viral clip was taken out of context and praised Aspinall’s humor
Daniele, a former Playboy model and long-time MMA fan, started working for the UFC last summer.
Daniele has since been responsible for interviews that show the lighter and funnier sides of fighters. On several occasions, Daniele made sexual jokes to get a response from fighters.
Aspinall’s interview wasn’t the first time Daniele had received a bizarre comment from a fighter.
In October, UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland told Daniele: “You’re here to show your t***, not your brain, calm down.”
Daniele joked about the reaction Aspinall got in another tweet.
“I can’t believe the media tried to cancel Tom Aspinall over a 10 second clip,” Daniele wrote. “I didn’t take it as sexual harassment… I took it as sexual harassment.
“Anyone trying to cancel @AspinallMMA can be (respectfully) fucked LOL.”