Kellie Harrington has said she is "all about community, inclusion and diversity" after refusing to address a question about her retweeting of a video that featured anti-immigration sentiment.
Last October Dutch journalist Eva Vlaardingerbroek appeared on UK media outlet GB News to speak about the murder of a 12-year-old girl in Paris. Vlaardingerbroek described the victim as "another European girl sacrificed on the altar of mass migration".
Harrington retweeted the video with the caption: "Very, very sad. A powerful message from Eva Vlaardingerbroek. Our own leaders need to take a listen to this. She believes this is the 12th girl in France this year who has been killed by an immigrant. And that's just France."
She later deleted the tweet.
When asked about the retweet on OTB AM, Harrington refused to address it, urging the interviewer to "let it go and move on".
Harrington later released a statement clarifying her position, adding that she does "not want to engage in politically sensitive matters".
The statement read: "Last October, I reposted a tweet of a video from a journalist [whom I did not know at the time] detailing the story of a young girl from France who was kidnapped and murdered.
"Moved by the horrific circumstances of this story, I reposted a video of this journalist together with a copy of my quote. My thoughts in that moment were of that young girl and not any political opinion.
"Having realised the significance of my tweet and the hurt caused to a number of people, I immediately deleted the tweet.
"I engaged privately with a number of people who were hurt by my tweet and I apologised to them.
"As a sporting role model I am aware that I need to be mindful of what I do and say. I reacted with my emotions and without the facts. How this came across is not reflective of me as a person or my thoughts.
"I do not want to engage in politically sensitive matters.
"What I want to make clear is, through my life in boxing and inside boxing, I have been lucky to have had many multicultural influences and this continues to shape me to this day.
"That is something that shapes me as the person I am today and something I am very grateful for.
"The people closest to me will attest to this. Since the interview, I have seen some comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear.
"As a sportswoman, I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusion and diversity."
