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Naomi Osaka and Megyn Kelly had a Twitter volley worthy of a grand slam final on Monday — after the journalist called out the tennis pro for appearing on magazine covers like the 2021 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue despite saying she was taking a break from the spotlight.<\/p>\n
The tiff started when the journalist jumped on criticism of Osaka gracing the front of mags after refusing to speak to media at the French Open and bowing out of the tournament in May, citing bouts with depression and social anxiety. <\/p>\n
The former NBC News host responded to a tweet from conservative commentator Clay Travis that read: “Since saying she\u2019s too introverted to talk to the media after tennis matches, Naomi Osaka has launched a reality show, a Barbie, and now is on the cover of the SI swimsuit issue.”<\/p>\n
Kelly, also an ex-Fox News anchor, shared the tweet and added, “Let\u2019s not forget the cover of (& interview in) Vogue Japan and Time Mag!”<\/p>\n
The snipe caught the attention of Osaka, who replied by taking her own swipe at Kelly, saying that she shot the SI cover and others last year — before she decided to skip the annual clay-court tournament in Paris.<\/p>\n
“Seeing as you\u2019re a journalist I would\u2019ve assumed you would take the time to research what the lead times are for magazines, if you did that you would\u2019ve found out I shot all of my covers last year,” she wrote to Kelly on Twitter.<\/p>\n
“Instead your first reaction is to hop on here and spew negativity, do better Megan.”<\/p>\n
Osaka, 23, then apparently blocked Kelly on the social media app. <\/p>\n
“Poor @naomiosaka blocked me while taking a shot at me (guess she\u2019s only tough on the courts),” Kelly wrote in a tweet. “She is apparently arguing that she shot her many covers b\/4 publicly claiming she was too socially anxious to deal w\/press. Truth is she just doesn\u2019t like Qs she can\u2019t control. Admit it.”<\/p>\n
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Osaka is one of three cover stars of this year’s SI Swimsuit Issue, on sale July 22. She is the first black athlete to cover the iconic magazine issue. The two-time US Open champion also landed the cover of Vogue Japan’s August issue and graced the front of Vogue Hong Kong’s July 2021 digital issue.<\/p>\n
She was on the cover of Time this month, writing an essay for the mag about her decision to withdraw from Roland Garros, after she was fined for refusing to take part in mandated news conferences in order to protect her mental health.<\/p>\n
The athlete — who recently came out with a best-selling Barbie doll — addressed her mental health battles in her Netflix documentary \u201cNaomi Osaka,\u201d which premiered July 16.<\/p>\n