Jorginho 'sets record straight' in new statement on incident with Chappell Roan that left 11-year-old in tears
Weeks after accusing Chappell Roan of reducing his stepdaughter to tears, footie star Jorginho has said that the incident was in fact a 'misunderstanding'.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal player, 34, has now backtracked on his previous comments about the 'Pink Pony Club' singer.
Back in March, he called out the music star on social media after 11-year-old Ada was left 'shaken' and in floods of tears when she was reprimanded by a security guard in a hotel in Brazil.
Roan had been staying in São Paulo while performing at this year's Lollapalooza festival - and Jorginho's wife Catherine Harding and her daughter were residing at the same place.
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The pair got hitched in June last year after getting together in 2020. Harding shares Ada with actor Jude Law, as well as son Jax with Jorginho.
He is also dad to son, Vitor, and daughter, Alicia, who he shares with ex-wife Natalia Leteri.
According to Jorginho, Ada spotted Roan in the breakfast area of the hotel and 'simple walked past the singer's table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum'.
"What happened next was completely disproportionate," he said at the time. "A large security guard came over to their table while they were still having breakfast and began speaking in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife and my daughter, saying that she shouldn’t allow my daughter to ‘disrespect’ or ‘harass’ other people."
The midfielder's statement subsequently went viral, prompting Roan to share a response online, where she insisted that she had no idea the young girl had been left distraught over the alleged interaction.
The Grammy-winner said that the bodyguard involved was not part of her team, before the man who chastised Ada then spoke out himself.
'Protection specialist' Pascal Duvier - who has previously worked for Kim Kardashian - confirmed that he was 'at the hotel on behalf of another individual' and said the 'outcome of the encounter was regretful'.
Now, Jorginho has issued a new statement on the matter, which he says he now considers to be 'closed'.
In a post shared to his Instagram Story, the father-of-four said that 'new information had come to light' and he felt it was 'important to clarify everything'.
"I made my initial statement in the heat of the moment, after hearing that my child and wife had been approached by an adult male security guard in an intimidating way," the Italy international said.
"I reacted as any father would," Jorginho said. "My priority is, and always will be, protecting my family, and that is exactly what I did.
"I also want to make clear that the situation did occur as it was originally described. At the time, we acted on the information that was available to us.
"Since then, I have become aware of new information that has changed my understanding of parts of what happened."
Jorginho explained that Roan had 'reached out privately to Catherine' after issuing a public statement on the incident.
"It became clear that she had no knowledge of what took place at breakfast and had not asked anyone to approach them," he continued. "She was understanding and sympathetic to what had happened to our child."
"The security guard himself has since confirmed publicly that he was representing another artist at the hotel at the time," the football star said. "While we still do not know what prompted him to approach them, and do not believe an 11-year-old at breakfast could reasonably be seen as any kind of security threat, it is now clear that he was not acting on behalf of Chappell.
"It was, ultimately, a misunderstanding in that respect, and l am glad to set the record straight."
Jorginho said he was keen to share an update which 'fairly and accurately' reflecting what went on, adding: "I regret the impact this situation has had on Chappell Roan, Catherine, Ada, and our family.
"I will always stand up for my family. But I also know how to recognise when things were not quite what they seemed at first. Thank you for the support we received during this sensitive moment.
"I do, however, want to make one thing very clear: I do not support or encourage hate speech or online attacks from any side. Respect, empathy, and humility are values I carry and teach my family every single day.
"As far as l am concerned, this matter is closed."
Topics: Celebrity, Celebrity News, Viral, Parenting
Olivia Burke