Michelle Wie has hit back at Rudy Giuliani after the former personal attorney to Donald Trump shared a story about being able to see the golfer’s underwear while she putted during a charity fundraiser in 2014.
Guiliani was appearing on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast on Thursday for a discussion on Rush Limbaugh, the influential rightwing talk radio host who died earlier that day, when he asked if he could tell a story about a golf outing with Limbaugh and Wie.
As Giuliani recalled it, Limbaugh was complaining about the “paparazzi” that were trailing their foursome and blaming the former New York City mayor for their presence – only for Giuliani to point out they were there for Wie.
“On the green is Michelle Wie and she is getting ready to putt,” Giuliani said. “Now Michelle Wie is gorgeous. She’s six feet. And she has a strange putting stance. She bends all the way over. And her panties show. And the press was going crazy. ... They were trying to take pictures of her panties.
“I said ‘[Rush], it’s not me, it’s not you. It’s her panties.’”
Giuliani ended the story by asking: “Is it OK to tell that joke?”
“We already told it so, I don’t know,” Bannon responded.
Wie offered a strong response via Twitter on Friday night, not referencing Giuliani by name, calling the story “highly inappropriate”.
Definitely not the point, but keep wondering why Rudy called this a joke. What is the punchline? pic.twitter.com/VNKgoq92KS
— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) February 19, 2021
“What this person should have remembered from that day was the fact that I shot 64 and beat every male golfer in the field leading our team to victory,’’ she wrote. “I shudder thinking he was smiling to my face and complimenting my game while objectifying me and referencing my ‘panties’ behind my back all day.’’
She added: “What should be discussed is the elite skill level that women play at, not what we wear or look like. My putting stance six years ago was designed to improve my putting stats (I ended up winning the US Open that year), NOT as an invitation to look up my skirt!”
— Michelle Wie (@MichelleWieWest) February 20, 2021
The United States Golf Association replied to Wie with a supportive post on Twitter on Saturday.
“Sexism has no place in golf or in life,” the USGA said. “We are always in your corner.’’
Wie, 31, is a five-time winner on the LPGA tour, including on Pinehurst No 2 at the 2014 US Women’s Open. She’s currently on maternity leave after giving birth to daughter Makenna Kamalei Yoona West in June.
She first rose to fame after becoming the youngest player ever to qualify for the US Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship aged 10. When she was 14, she recorded the lowest score ever by a woman competing on the PGA Tour with a 68 at the Sony Open.
