"Praised My Performance Upfront but Mentioned My Underwear Behind My Back"… Michelle Wie Furious Over Former New York Mayor's Sexual Harassment Remarks

Michelle Wie's game appearance.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Rudolph Giuliani (77), former New York City mayor and known as the lawyer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, made sexually harassing remarks toward Korean-American golfer Michelle Wie West (32, Korean name Wie Seongmi). Michelle Wie expressed that she felt "uncomfortable."

On the 19th, Michelle Wie criticized on her social media (SNS), "I am uncomfortable that a public figure I played a charity pro-am with in 2014 mentioned my 'panties' on a podcast."

She continued, "What this person should remember is that I shot 64 strokes, defeated all the male golfers, and led the team to victory. It makes me shudder to think that someone who praised my performance with a smile was talking about my 'panties' behind my back."

She pointed out, "What should be discussed is the performance of female golfers, not what they wear or how they look."

Although Michelle Wie did not specifically name anyone in her post, U.S. golf media such as Golfweek referred to the pro-am event seven years ago involving former New York City mayor Giuliani.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaking at a rally supporting President Trump held in Washington DC / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 21st, according to foreign media reports, former Mayor Giuliani appeared on a podcast hosted by Steven Bannon on the 18th. When the host asked about an anecdote involving conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh, who passed away on the 17th, Giuliani mentioned playing golf with Limbaugh and Michelle Wie at a pro-am tournament in 2014.

Giuliani said, "At that time, Limbaugh was complaining about why so many paparazzi were following us, but those paparazzi were not after me or Limbaugh?they were trying to photograph Michelle Wie."

He added, "Her putting stance was strange. Being tall, she bent her waist so much when putting that sometimes her panties were visible. The media was going crazy trying to capture her panties."

Giuliani later tried to backtrack, saying, "Is it okay to make such jokes?" but the damage was already done.

Meanwhile, in response to Michelle Wie's reaction, the United States Golf Association (USGA) showed support through their official Twitter, stating, "Sexism has no place in golf or life. We will always stand by you."