Quick Scoop: What Did Stephanie Rice Tweet in 2009?

Actually, Stephanie Rice didn't tweet anything controversial in 2009 —the infamous incident happened in 2010.

The Infamous 2010 Tweet

On September 4, 2010 , following Australia's Wallabies' last-gasp rugby union victory over South Africa in the Tri-Nations tournament, the triple Olympic gold medalist posted:

"Suck on that faggots!"

She quickly deleted the post, but the damage was done. The homophobic slur sparked immediate backlash from gay rights groups, fellow athletes, and the public.

Aftermath & Consequences

Here's what happened next:

  • Sponsorship lost : Jaguar terminated her endorsement deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
  • Public apology : On September 8, 2010, Rice held a tearful press conference in Sydney, calling her comments "thoughtless and careless" and insisting she never intended to offend anyone
  • Public reaction : Former rugby league star Ian Roberts (who is openly gay) called her an "idiot," while Olympic diving champion Matthew Mitcham defended her as thoughtless rather than genuinely homophobic

Why the 2009 Confusion?

The mix-up likely stems from Rice's peak fame period. She won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and received the Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2009, so many people associate her with that era. But Twitter itself was still nascent in 2009 Australia, and her controversial outburst came a year later.

Rice later reflected on the incident on SAS Australia in 2023, calling it "the tweet that changed her life".

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.