UFC star Israel Adesanya has been removed as an ambassador for BMW due to his controversial rape comment made online last week.
In a video on his Instagram story, Adesanya said he would rape fellow UFC middleweight Kevin Holland, as part of ongoing trash talking between the two.
Adesanya received serious backlash for his comment, including from Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.
"There's never a time to make flippant comments about rape," Robertson told RNZ's First Up yesterday.
"That's just not something anybody should do. I'm sure Israel understands that."
Adesanya released a statement this morning apologising for the comment, saying he "crossed the line".
But his apology has not stopped BMW from dumping the mixed martial artist as an ambassador, in a statement issued today.
"Due to the comments made by an athlete online, we have reviewed our pending association with said athlete and we have decided not to push forward with a specific ambassador for the brand at this time in New Zealand.”
Adesanya has a huge social media following, including 4.6 million Instagram followers and over 860,000 Twitter followers.
On Wednesday, Rape Prevention Education executive director Debbi Tohill told RNZ there was no place for comments like Adesanya's.
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