WATCH: Presenter Chris Hughes calls Maitlan Brown ‘little Barbie with blue eyes’ while covering The Hundred

Sports Presenter Chris Hughes, covering The Hundred for a reputed English Media Agency drew flak with an inappropriate comment while interviewing Australian cricketer Maitlan Brown. With the match taking place at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, UK, the Trent Rocket clashed against the Southern Brave. Brown, representing Southern Brave was asked by Hughes about their team-building exercises. She replied saying that the team went to see Greta Gerwig’s Barbie recently.

“We watched Barbie the other night altogether and it was really good team bonding and the group is gelling really well together,” Brown said. She added, “That is the key to success I think in tournaments like this, how well and how quickly you can gel as a group”. To this, Hughes, 30, responded, “You’re a little Barbie yourself innit, with your blue eyes”. Brown laughed at Hughes’ comment, as the presenter added, “She’s blushing now.” The interview turned awkward but Hughes, who appeared on the reality show Love Island, used all his presenting skills to continue the interview professionally.

Here’s the viral video:

Smriti Mandhana was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’

Later, a spokesperson from the media agency produced a clarification. They said, “We have spoken to Chris and explained that his comment was not appropriate,” as reported by the Daily Mail. Even social media users despised his remarks. Many comments were flooding the video’s comment sections. “That’s shocking,” a user reacted on Twitter. Another user said, “Not sure interviewing Maitlan Brown needed to include “you’re a bit of a Barbie too with your blue eyes” did it.” “She’s an elite athlete and he’s referring to her as a Barbie. Let’s all have a think about whether that’s in any way appropriate – no, we don’t need to. It’s not!” a user commented. A few others said that they “had to rewind to check” if they “heard it right”.

Talking of the game, the Southern Brave won the game by 27 runs with India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana being adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for her knock of 55 runs. The Hunderd is a 100-ball tournament with teams representing major cities in England and Wales.