Sir Richard Branson wades into Twitter row over Virgin Mobile USA Christmas 'sexual assault' advert After an angry Twitter backlash, Sir Richard wrote: "The@virginmobileus advert is pretty ill-judged, I have made my thoughts clear to them," adding a link to his Virgin blog, where he explained he did not own Virgin Mobile USA. He then updated his blog, saying: "Having spoken with them just now they acknowledge a dreadful mistake was made, the advert will be withdrawn within the hour, never to be seen again." A Virgin Mobile USA spokesman said the post was a "rogue post by an external agency" that was not approved by the central marketing team. He apologised for any offence caused and confirmed it was removed on Sunday morning.