Lewis Hamilton apologises for ‘ignorant moment’ mocking nephew in princess dress

Lewis Hamilton has apologised for a “stupid” post that saw him mocking his nephew for wearing a princess dress in 2017.

The Formula 1 driver is featured on the September 2022 edition of Vanity Fair and told the magazine it was an “ignorant moment”.

Hamilton had shared a video of his nephew on Christmas day 2017 with an embarrassed monkey emoji and the caption “I’m so sad right now - look at my nephew.”

In the now deleted video the seven time world champion asked his nephew: “why are you wearing a princess dress? Is that what you got for Christmas? Why did you ask for a princess dress for Christmas?”

Hamilton then shouted “Boys don’t wear princess dresses!” to his nephew, who covered his ears and turned away.

Following backlash from the video, Hamilton took the post down and apologised to his followers for his “not acceptable” behaviour.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is a seven times world champion Formula 1 driver, who currently drives for Mercedes.

Hamilton holds the record for most wins (103), pole positions (103) and podium finishes (188).

The driver is a social activist and uses his platform to raise awareness for a multitude of areas, including racism and homophobia.

• Age: 37
• Born: 7 January 1985
• Partner: Single
• Children: None
• Location: Monaco 
• Net Worth: $285 million

Reflecting on his controversial Instagram video during his Vanity Fair interview, Lewis Hamilton said: “That was so stupid. I realised that a lot of my upbringing was coming out. I went with just an ignorant moment.

“And I straightaway realised that that’s not actually how I feel deep inside.

“I realised that was wrong. And so then finding ways of not necessarily undoing it, but showing that community that I support them.

“It’s difficult in today’s world. It’s difficult to undo things.”

In 2017, when the original video was posted to Instagram, Hamilton received heavy backlash from the post.

He took to Twitter at the time to say: “Yesterday I was playing around with my nephew and realised that my words were inappropriate so I removed the post.

“I meant no harm and did not mean to offend anyone at all. I love that my nephew feels free to express himself as we all should.

“My deepest apologies for my behaviour as I realise it is really not acceptable for anyone, no matter where you are from, to marginalise or stereotype anyone.

“I have always been in support of anyone living their life exactly how they wish and I hope I can be forgiven for this lapse in judgement.”

Connections

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen is a Formula 1 driver who races for Red Bull.

Verstappen is the 2021 Formula 1 World Champion and looks set to take the title again for 2022.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were in fierce competition during the 2021 World Championship with just eight points between them.

George Russell

George Russell is Lewis Hamiton’s team mate at Mercedes for the 2022 Formula 1 season.

In 2018, Russell was crowned the FIA Formula 2 Champion before he moved up to Formula 1.

George started his career in Formula 1 racing for Williams before joining the Mercedes team for 2022.

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel is a Formula 1 driver who races for Aston Martin.

The four time World Champion announced that he will be retiring at the end of the 2022 season to focus on his family and other passions.

Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula 1, behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Personal

Nicole Scherzinger

Lewis Hamilton had an on-and-off again relationship with singer and television personality Nicole Scherzinger.

The pair met in 2007 at the MTV EMA’s and started dating, but eventually split in 2015.

With Scherzinger in the band The Pussycat Dolls and Hamilton focusing on his F1 career, the pair cited their busy schedules as the reason for their break-up.

Rita Ora

Although the pair were never confirmed to be together, the couple spent some time together in 2016.

The British singer-songwriter took a luxury holiday to Montenegro with Hamilton, where they were seen messing around by the pool together.

Rita Ora was also seen during the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Hamilton and also was photographed standing with his mum.

Danielle Lloyd

Lewis Hamilton and Danielle Lloyd dated for about six months during 2002.

The model and television personality shared that their relationship had ended amicably and that the pair stayed friends for some time after their split.

Despite the split, Hamilton was present when Lloyd was crowned Miss England in 2004.