Lewis Hamilton has apologised after facing criticism for telling his young nephew: “Boys don’t wear princess dresses.”
The Formula One driver shared a video of the young boy wearing a pink and purple dress to his Instagram account, telling the camera: “I’m so sad right now, look at my nephew.
“Why are you wearing a princess dress,” he asks the smiling child. “Is this what you got for Christmas? Why did you ask for a princess dress for Christmas?”
The 32-year-old ended the 13 second recording by exclaiming: “Boys don’t wear princess dresses.”
But Hamilton apologised for his comments in a string of tweets on Tuesday evening:
The video caused a storm online, with many accusing Hamilton of “publicly shaming” his nephew.
One man wrote on Twitter: “Have I literally just watched @LewisHamilton openly shame his little nephew on Insta stories for wearing a princess dress, which he asked for as a Christmas gift? Just wow.”
Another woman added: “Lewis Hamilton’s words have actually made me feel sick. Can’t believe he did that.
“That smiley little boy was simply enjoying wearing a Christmas gift that he really wanted. Who cares if it’s a dress!”
Hamilton has since deleted the video from his Instagram account.
HuffPost UK have reached out to the driver’s team for comment.