U.S. women's soccer player Alex Morgan lit up the Internet on Wednesday with her unexpected celebration of a game-winning goal in the Women's World Cup semifinals against England as she mimicked sipping from a cup of tea. Several viewers saw Morgan's celebration as an iconic stamp on her goal, but others criticized it as disrespectful to her opponents on the field. Morgan has since cleared up precisely exactly what inspired her gesture—but she also received an assist from actress Sophie Turner.
Morgan explained in an interview on Friday that her tea-sipping celebration wasn't intended to disrespect England, a country where drinking tea is basically its own sport. Instead, it was an homage to a series on Turner's Instagram Stories, where the actress shares her unfiltered thoughts and calls them "tea."
"My celebration was actually more 'That's the tea,' which is telling a story, spreading news," Morgan said.
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Shortly after that interview, Turner chimed in (presumably from her honeymoon) with an epic response. In a short video, she praised Morgan for her victory—and for giving her Instagram a subtle shout-out with her gesture.
"Alex Morgan, all those haters that are saying that this was disrespectful... I'm honored that you thought of me," she said. "And all those people that are hating on you are probably sitting at home, millennials drinking kombucha. And I'm really fucking proud of you, Alex Morgan."
Turner signed off with her signature line: "Congratulations on your win, and that's the motherfucking tea." You can watch the entire address below:
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Turner's defense was a mic drop by itself, but Morgan had her own great response to her critics. In the same interview where she mentioned Turner, she also pointed out that men celebrate their victories more emphatically—and they don't receive the same criticism that she did.
"I feel that there is some sort of double standard for females in sports to feel like we have to be humble in our successes and have to celebrate but not too much, or do something but always in a limited fashion," Morgan said. "You see men celebrating all over the world in big tournaments, grabbing their sacks or whatever it is. And when I look at sipping a cup of tea, I am a little taken aback by the criticism."
And, well, that's the tea.
Halie LeSavage is a contributing writer at Glamour. Follow her @halielesavage.
