Israel Adesanya dropped by BMW following rape joke

BMW has cut ties with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after he recently made a rape joke about Kevin Holland on social media.

“Bro, I will f*ckin rape you,” Adesanya said about Holland in the now-deleted Instagram story that has resulted in the UFC superstar coming under heavy criticism. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson condemned Adesanya for his comments, and Adesanya later took to his social media to release an apology. While it was good for him to get on top of things and issue a public statement, it appears it wasn’t enough to save his new role as an ambassador with BMW. Instead, he has lost his job for his comments.

On Friday, BMW issued a statement saying that the company is cutting ties with Adesanya, who was supposed to be unveiled as the face of BMW New Zealand on Monday. Instead of becoming the company’s ambassador in his home country, BMW dropped him instead.

“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,” the statement from BMW about Israel Adesanya read (via Stuff).

The UFC has not yet issued an official statement on the matter, but it could make a comment, especially now that it’s reached this level. Although Adesanya seemed genuine in his apology message that he posted on Thursday, ultimately it was not enough to save his job with BMW New Zealand. It’s a lesson learned once again for Adesanya and quite frankly, anyone who uses social media. While people are free to write whatever they want on their social media, you have to also accept the repercussions. In this case, a joke gone wrong has resulted in Adesanya losing his ambassador role with BMW NZ.