Russian fitness model slammed for coronavirus-themed bikini photo: 'Totally stupid and disrespectful'
A Russian bodybuilder and fitness model has been slammed on social media after uploading a picture of herself in a coronavirus-themed bikini made from a mask and respirators, both of which are in high demand across the globe.
Yulia Ushakova, who has over 500,000 followers on Instagram, posted the image earlier this week and appeared to joke about the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 350,000 people and killed over 15,000 worldwide.
"I just ordered on AliExpress this trendy swimsuit," the 29-year-old captioned the pic, where she is seen posing in a two-piece fashioned from respirators and masks.
"The built-in valves allows the skin to breathe, unfortunately, you can’t wear it for more than two hours," she continued. "I don’t know whether this has become a new challenge on Instagram. But I like the idea. What do you think?"
While the post did clock more than 9,000 likes, many of her followers criticized her for making a mockery of the crisis and brought up how hospitals and medical professionals are struggling because of a shortage of such necessities.
"There is a global lack of masks," one user fumed. "This is the worst joke I have seen during these horrible days."
"Totally stupid and disrespectful to all doctors and all those who are suffering. Unfollow right away. Enough," another commented.
"In the moment when those masks can save a life, this is not the best kind of joke you can do," a third user posted.
Following the backlash, Ushakova seemingly uploaded another coronavirus-themed photo on her page, but claimed in the caption she was wearing the mask because she suffers from allergies.
"I’m not one of those people who are waiting for spring. I don’t like it at all, like all allergy sufferers," she wrote. "I have a chronic hay fever since childhood, it is an allergy to pollen from trees and plants, which usually begins only in the middle-end of April, but gets warmer every year earlier, and I start sneezing already at the end of March"
"Glasses and a mask are my usual set of 'accessories' in the spring, but this year alone I do not cause the surprised looks of passers-by. 2020 is the first year in my life when you can even come to the passport office in a mask, and even big sunglasses and the employee apologizes when she asks to open her face to verify me with the photo on my passport."
This is not the first time that Ushakova has hit headlines either. The 29-year-old was in the news in 2018 after HC Spartak Moscow, the hockey club where she worked as a TV presenter, shared an image of her lying on a treatment table wearing just a thong.
Accompanying the image was a mock injury update that read, "Trauma to the lower body of our leading (player) Julia Ushakova. (The team) placed the attacker on the list of traumatized."
She joined in on the joke on her Instagram page, where she uploaded the image and wrote, "I twisted my ankle, two broken nails. My wrist will be corrected, and when I go for the manicure, the problem will be solved."
"I started the week badly. I will solve the ‘women’s problems’ in terms of the degree of significance; first I’ll remove the wrinkles, then to the manicure. And the ankle itself will pass. Let’s see how cosmetics works @celltense_russia. To all, a cool and positive start to the week."