In an interview on Monday, Kyle Rittenhouse responded to NBA player LeBron James, who accused Rittenhouse of fake crying during his trial last month when recounting the moment he was attacked in August 2020.
During his interview on Blaze Media’s “You Are Here” interview show, the hosts brought up James’ tweet about Rittenhouse.
Reacting to James’ tweet, Rittenhouse said, “I was a Lakers fan too before he said that.”
“I was really pissed off when he said that because I liked LeBron,” Rittenhouse continued. “And then I’m like, you know what, fuck you, LeBron.”
Rittenhouse took to the witness stand in his murder trial last month, where he described the events of that night. Rittenhouse claimed he was being attacked and fired in self-defense when he fatally shot two men and wounded a third. As he described the moments leading up to the first shooting, Rittenhouse began to cry.
Reacting to Rittenhouse’s testimony at the time, James tweeted, “What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court.”
During the trial, Rittenhouse’s attorneys told the court that Rittenhouse suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following the events of that night.
On Aug. 25, 2020, Rittenhouse joined a group of armed citizens defending a trio of car dealerships amid ongoing riots in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin following the police shooting of a black man named Jacob Blake. Throughout the night, Rittenhouse put out fires started at and around the dealerships and offered first aid to people in the crowds on the streets that night. Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-15 style rifle that night.
While Rittenhouse went to put out a fire at one of the dealerships, a man by the name of Joseph Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse through the used-car lot, threw a bag at him and eventually caught up to Rittenhouse and reached for his rifle. As Rosenbaum reached for the rifle, Rittenhouse shot four times, killing his pursuer.
In the moments after shooting Rosenbaum, members of the crowd began chasing after Rittenhouse who ran in the direction of a nearby police line. As he ran towards police, multiple pursuers attacked Rittenhouse and he fell to the ground. After falling to the ground, a man, Anthony Huber, swung a skateboard at Rittenhouse’s head and grabbed for the rifle before Rittenhouse fired another shot, fatally wounding Huber.
After that point, a third individual, Gaige Grosskreutz, approached Rittenhouse and pointed a handgun at him as Rittenhouse sat up from the ground. As Grosskreutz pointed his handgun at Rittenhouse, Rittenhouse fired, wounding Grosskreutz in the arm.
Rittenhouse claimed self-defense in the shooting incidents, but he was ultimately charged with first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under the age of 18. The judge dismissed the last charge before the jury went into deliberations.
A jury ultimately found Rittenhouse “not guilty” on all charges in the murder case on Nov. 19.
James wasn’t the only member of the NBA to weigh in on Rittenhouse’s case. Following his acquittal, former NBA player Kwame Brown said he felt that Rittenhouse had acted in self-defense and said, “A bunch of people are getting paid to push this racist shit,” about Rittenhouse’s case.
Brown said some “racists” are “mad because the person who defended themselves was white.”
“For you to look at self-defense through a lens of color, you’re a jackass, in my opinion,” Brown added. “Self-defense is self-defense, period, point-blank.”
