Gymnast slammed for ‘vulgar’ and ‘insulting’ stunt at sacred religious shrine
By Ben Cost,
10 hours ago
They felt she was flipping their culture the bird.
Gymnastics influencer María del Mar Pérez Banus has been accused of “insulting” Japanese culture after performing a “vulgar” acrobatics routine at a sacred shrine.
A since-deleted Instagram video of her sacrilegious-seeming sequence has since been shared to X, where it amassed over nearly 19 million views .
The 25-year-old acrobat, who boasts over 140,000 followers on a page she shares with her sister, had reportedly executed the showcase at a Torii, a symbolic gateway marking the entrance to a Shinto temple.
Pérez performs her routine at the Torri, a gateway at Japanese shrines that’s often seen as the border between the spirit and the human world. Jam Press Vid
“I really wasn’t thinking about what I was doing,” insisted Pérez in a followup clip (pictured). Jam Press Vid
It’s often viewed as a boundary separating the human world from the spirit world, Need To Know reported.
In the clip, Pérez — who hails from Chile but lives in the US — is seen dangling from the red structure like a pullup bar while gyrating as the hit song “Cha-Cha Slide” plays in the background.
In 2019, Pérez competed for Chile as a rhythmic gymnast at the Pan American Games and also won a silver medal at the South American Gymnastics Championships. Jam Press Pérez frequently posts videos of her gymnastics routines to an Instagram page she shares with her sister. Jam Press
“This shows a lack of respect for Japanese religious culture and customs,” said one outraged viewer in a translated post on X . “I hope you never come to Japan again.”
Another fumed , “Foreigners really don’t know anything. If they break something, they’ll just run away. I wish you would stop.”
One even cited a passage from the local penal code stipulating that “any person who publicly disrespects a shrine, Buddhist temple, graveyard, or other place of worship shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of not more than 100,000 yen.”
Following the backlash, the fit-fluencer posted a video of herself apologizing to fans over the insensitive stunt, claiming she didn’t realize the significance of the shrine.
“I really wasn’t thinking about what I was doing,” insisted Pérez in the mea culpa. “I want to apologize a thousand times. Please stop sending me messages and comments, I’m really sorry.”
She added, “I hope you can understand, thank you very much.”
In 2019, Pérez competed for Chile as a rhythmic gymnast at the Pan American Games and also won a silver medal at the South American Gymnastics Championships.
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Comments / 4
Add a Comment
YAHSHARALAH
3h ago
sacred religious shrine ? that's idolatry
idgaf666endofabdullahablganda
4h ago
stupid bitch!!just stfu and do a splits in sling bikini!!! no body cares about ur feelings ohohohohoho
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