Irina Rodnina, a Soviet figure skating legend who lit the Olympic flame in Sochi, tries to distance herself from a controversial tweet. That defense worked so well for Anthony Weiner.

In September, Russian ex-Olympian figure skater and pro-Putin parliamentarian Irina Rodnina tweeted this doctored, blatantly racist photo of Barack and Michelle Obama.

After a flurry of abuse on Russian Twitter, Rodnina claimed she had been "sent the picture from the U.S." and wrote at the time: "Freedom of speech is freedom! Answer for your own complexes yourself!" She then deleted the tweets.

Via Twitter: @EvgenyFeldman

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