Sophie Turner took a break from her honeymoon with Joe Jonas to defend American soccer player Alex Morgan as she faces backlash for “sipping tea” as part of her goal celebration during Tuesday’s match against England.
“Unfortunately the UK Women’s football team lost at the World Cup and of course I’m incredibly sad and incredibly proud of that team,” Turner, 23, said in a video posted to her Instagram story Friday. “But I am so honored that we lost to such an incredible team, the US women’s football team.”
The British “Game of Thrones” actress congratulated the star athlete and showed her support amid the criticism for her celebration — hours after the athlete told ESPN that the gesture was a nod to Turner’s social media sign-offs, which are complete with an actual sip of tea or wine.
“Alex Morgan, all those haters are saying this is disrespectful, I’m honored that you thought of me,” she said. “And all those people that are hating on you are probably sitting at home — millennials drinking kombucha — I’m really f–king proud of you, Alex Morgan, congratulations on your win, and that’s the motherf–king tea.”
The soccer star responded to Turner by reposting her story to her own social media account with the message, “ILYSM! PS- CONGRATS!”
Morgan, who helped the US Women’s team defeat England by a final score of 2-1 on the same day as her 30th birthday, dubbed the backlash a “double standard.”
“I feel that there is some sort of double standard for females in sports,” she said. “To feel like we have to be humble in our successes and have to celebrate, but not too much or in a limited fashion. You see men celebrating all over the world in big tournaments, grabbing their sacks or whatever it is. And when I look at sipping a cup of tea, I am a little taken aback by the criticism.”
Thankfully, she’s got the Queen of the North on her side for when the women’s team takes on the Netherlands in the tournament’s final match on Sunday.
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