Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is feeling the heat after mocking his nephew in an online video for wearing a “princess dress.”
The 32-year-old British race car driver appears to have been celebrating Christmas with his family when he posted the video, which showed his nephew wearing a pink and purple dress and waving a toy wand.
“I’m so sad right now. Look at my nephew,” Hamilton says in the clip. Turning to the boy, he then asks, “Why are you wearing a princess dress? Is this what you got for Christmas?”
At the end of the clip, the driver shouts, “Boys don’t wear princess dresses!”
Hamilton posted the video to his Instagram Stories, but it has since been deleted. Though it’s unclear exactly when the clip first appeared, it’s been widely circulated on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Many condemned Hamilton’s remarks, calling him out for reinforcing gender stereotypes.
Hamilton, who previously dated Nicole Scherzinger and has been romantically linked to Kendall Jenner, Rihanna and Heidi Klum, has sparked controversy on social media before.
Last year, he was reportedly investigated by New Zealand police after using his cell phone to film himself while riding a motorcycle, violating local laws. His 2016 visit to Mexico’s Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation was heavily criticized after he posted photos of himself posing with endangered tigers on Snapchat and Instagram.
At the time, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) blasted Hamilton’s photos as a “foolish move” that promoted “the idea that wild animals are here for human amusement and to do with as humans please.”
A representative for Hamilton did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
UPDATE: Hamilton apologized for the clip in a series of tweets Tuesday, Dec. 26.
