“Stop Calling It Promotion”: Kyrie Irving Engages in a Back-and Forth Verbal Spat With a Reporter For Questioning His Anti-Semitic Post
Tyrese Haliburton added 26 points, and rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored a career-high 32 as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 125-116 on Saturday. Kyrie Irving led the struggling Nets, who dropped to 1-5, with 35 points on 13 of 22 field goal attempts. During Brooklyn’s current four-game losing streak, its defense has given up 124.5 points per game. Irving has drawn criticism for appearing to embrace an anti-Semitic movie two days ago.
Kyrie Irving stated that he respects all religions before the game. He stated on Saturday night that he does not think he violated any laws by using his social media profiles to promote an antisemitic movie and book.
Kyrie Irving blasts ESPN journalist for questioning his controversial post
Kyrie Irving reaffirmed his choice to spread an Alex Jones-promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. Irving defended releasing a clip from the Jones-promoted video “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” in a furious exchange with ESPN writer Nick Friedell.
Irving said: “My post was a post from Alex Jones that he did in the early nineties or late nineties about secret societies in America of a cult and it’s true.”
Friedell then asked Irving, “And to follow up on the promotion of the movie and the book—”
But Irving cut him off: “Can you please stop calling it promotion?” Irving said. “What am I promoting?”
Kyrie Irving going back and forth with @NickFriedell during the Nets postgame presser 😳#NBATwitter #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/Mn2dSsirSN
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) October 30, 2022
“You put it out on your platform,” Friedell said.
“I put it out there, just like you put things out there, right? You put things out there for a living, right?” Irving replied.
It only got more intense from here. On Thursday, Kyrie Irving tweeted a link to the movie’s Amazon page. The same-named novel from 2015 served as the inspiration for the 2018 film.
Kyrie Irving did take some steps to separate himself from Jones more widely, particularly when the latter made remarks about Sandy Hook victims staging the tragedy, for which he was recently found liable in a defamation lawsuit in Connecticut and sentenced to pay almost $1 billion in damages.
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