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Fruity King moves to clarify controversial tweet but stops short of apologising

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By Jessica Goodfellow, Media Reporter

January 13, 2016 | 3 min read

Gambling brand Fruity King has hit back at criticisms that a tweet about Premier League star Yaya Toure’s wife was sexist and has refused to pull it in the wake of the public uproar.

On Sunday (10th January) the mobile casino posted a picture of Yara Toure and his wife Gineba alongside a caption that joked about the footballer’s wage not falling in line with the attractiveness of his wife.

The post inspired hundreds of users to attack the gambling company, with some calling the company “utterly disgraceful”, a “desperate, cringey attempt of being funny”. News outlets picked up on the outrage, with The Sun calling the company “sexist”, and Manchester Evening News calling the tweet “crass”.

Interestingly, the stories from these news outlets were later removed, after public relations for the brand claimed they were riddled with inaccuracies. The Drum contacted Manchester Evening News on why they removed the article, but they refused comment.

A spokesman for the brand said it considers The Sun’s use of the word “sexist” as “malicious, false, and a defamatory statement”. He went on to defend Fruity King’s tweet, saying "It's clearly an acerbic reference to her fashion sense. And obviously, no offence was meant".

One Twitter user pointed out the striking similarity of Fruity King's tweet with a controversial tweet by Oddschecker Au last year about Manchester United player James Wilson.

Despite the negative fallout from the post, the brand has stuck to its guns, with the tweet remaining on its page. The company risks inflaming the situation further after it posted a tweet two days after the original one with a meme that reads ‘There is no need to be upset’.

Fruity King Manchester Evening News The Sun

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