"I am still growing under the spotlight, and I take this as a lesson to be more selective with words under pressure."
On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson made it clear that Adesanya's comment was unacceptable for a high profile athlete in Aotearoa.
"I would certainly be making clear to him, and to anybody actually, that we have to take rape seriously. It's not an issue that anyone should be making jokes or flippant comments about at all."
Similarly, Rape Prevention Education executive director Debbi Tohill said comments like Adesanya's could normalise threats of sexual violence and with a huge social media following – more than 4.6 million people on Instagram and 860,000 on Twitter – many fans were exposed to the comments.
"People with a large social media following can play a significant role in reducing rates of sexual violence and creating healthy cultures of consent for any sexual activity," Tohill told Stuff.
"Conversely, these kind of comments where rape is used as a threat create a culture where it is acceptable to make sexualised comments with the potential to cause further harm."
Adesanya is currently undergoing MIQ following his Las Vegas fight on March 7 against Jan Blachowicz and is yet to comment on his most recent remarks.
Where to get help
Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
NZ Police
Victim Support: 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00
Rape Prevention Education
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): be 04 801 6655 - 0
Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800044334.
Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata Peer support for males who have experienced trauma and sexual abuse: 0800 94 22 94
