Kasey Kahne, driver of the #4 Red Bull Toyota, looks on after setting the pole position in qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 3, 2011 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne apologized on his Facebook page on Wednesday after being critical of a woman he saw breastfeeding a baby at a grocery store on Tuesday.
Kahne had said on Twitter on Tuesday: "Just walking though supermarket. See a mom breast feeding little kid. Took second look because obviously I was seeing things. I wasn't!"
He went on to describe the event in uncomplimentary and graphic terms, and called it "nasty."
"I don't feel like shopping or eating anymore."
He received a lot of negative feedback for his comments, and after a woman told him she disagreed with his stance, he called her a "dumb b----," according to the New York Daily News.
On Wednesday, Kahne responded to the criticism on his Facebook page:
"I understand that my comments regarding breastfeeding posted on Twitter were offensive to some people. For that, I apologize. It was in no way my intention to offend any mother who chooses to breastfeed her child, or, for that matter, anyone who supports breastfeeding children. I want to make that clear.
"In all honestly, I was surprised by what I saw in a grocery store. I shared that reaction with my fans on Twitter. It obviously wasn't the correct approach, and, after reading your feedback, I now have a better understanding of why my posts upset some of you. My comments were not directed at the mother's right to breastfeed. They were just a reaction to the location of that choice, and the fashion in which it was executed on that occasion. I respect the mother's right to feed her child whenever and wherever she pleases."