LeBron James was minding his own business while enjoying some new tunes by 21 Savage. The athlete filmed himself jamming to "asmr" in a whip and uploaded his clip to social media. His post, which seemed to have been captured while James was in a good mood, was received with criticism.
His mistake was the inclusion of the part of 21 Savage's song in which "Jewish money" is referenced:
"We been gettin' that Jewish money, everything is Kosher (On God) Bought myself a 'Ventador and bought my bitch a Roadster (Straight up) Drive my Lambo to the store, I'ma wave with my doors."
Doug Ellin, along with conservative allies, were quick to point out how these lyrics perpetuate a stereotype that has caused much pain and suffering to the Jewish community. The Entourage creator posted his critique to Instagram with a screenshot of James' clip over which he types out the offending lyrics.
"This is an anti Semitic stereotype used for centuries to foster hatred against Jews. @kingjames the nazis spread this nonsense everywhere #wordshavemeaning posting words to 44 million people has a ton of meaning."
Ellin also tagged two organizations in his post: Humans of Judaism and the ADL, whose mission is to " stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all..."
Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell, who shared his own screenshot of the clip, also appeared to be upset:
"Surprised LeBron, who makes very few mistakes, put this out. Does quoting lyrics from a song absolve the person quoting from the responsibility behind the words? I’d argue no, especially with a following of 45 million."
