'So much hate': James Courtney 'sorry' after Instagram backlash
Veteran Aussie driver James Courtney has been forced to apologise to fans after copping backlash over a racy Instagram post of himself and model girlfriend Tegan Woodford.
The Supercars star shared a raunchy snap of his partner sitting on a stool next to the kitchen bench dressed in black lace lingerie.
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The photo showed Woodford posing for the camera while Courtney appeared to be preparing a meal behind her.
He captioned the post with: “Could you at least pass me a spoon babe?”
After receiving quite a bit of backlash over the post, Courtney replied by saying: “Stop hating, start baking.”
Then on Wednesday, the 41-year-old issued a lengthier apology on an Instagram story, saying he was just trying to lighten things up in a challenging time around the world.
“I’m sorry if my post yesterday upset a few people, I thought it was funny and would make people laugh in these tough Covid times,” he wrote.
“The world is already full of so much hate. We don’t need to add to the already out of control cyber bullying epidemic.”
The original post still remains on Courtney's Instagram page.
Last year the Supercars driver had a brief relationship with Kyle Boldy, the ex-wife of former Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke.
Following that split, Courtney and his new girlfriend went public with their relationship in April.
In that time, both Courtney and Woodford have featured prominently on each other's Instagram pages.
Courtney also paid a beautiful tribute to his new love interest on her birthday, with a touching message on social media.
“Happy Birthday to my beautiful @tegan. You’re a very special woman that’s brought so much laughter and happiness into my life and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner,” he wrote.
“I love you and love doing life with you.”
James Courtney uncovers mystery injury
Earlier this month, Courtney revealed he had been racing with a broken shoulder without realising it.
The 41-year-old driver said it was only because of the Covid-19 forced hiatus mid-way through the Supercars season that he happened to discover the injury.
Courtney said the injury had happened when his 11-year-old son tackled him during a father-son rugby match back in May.
Incredibly, Courtney said it wasn't until Woodford also suffered an injury that there was a chance to get his own shoulder checked out properly.
He told AAP that some friends of his had opened a radiology business, and it was an offer from them that resulted in the injury being picked up.
"Probably never would've got it if the season kept going but because we had this time off and (partner) Tegan hurt herself, my mate Zane just opened up a new Mermaid Beach radiology with these new flash machines and he said come down have a look and we'll give you a scan and then boom, found it all," Courtney said.
The 41-year-old raced at back-to-back events in Townsville in July with the injury and will spend the next month and a half allowing it to heal before the championship resumes.
"We've got time so just yet cruise around and let it heal itself," the Boost Mobile Racing driver said.
Winton raceway - in regional Victoria - will host Supercars' return on October 2-3 after a revised calendar was issued late last month.
The championship then heads to Phillip Island for a SuperSprint event on October 23-24 before the showpiece Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama from November 4-7.
Despite NSW's ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer was hopeful the later date for the 1000km endurance event will allow fans to attend in some capacity.
"We will meet all COVID-19 safety requirements necessary to ensure this year's great race goes ahead," Seamer said when the revised calendar was released.
"Our aim is to ensure we can bring back as many fans as possible."
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