NBA star LeBron James is accusing Kyle Rittenhouse of faking his tears during testimony in his murder trial.
On Wednesday night, James shared a USA Today tweet that read, “Kyle Rittenhouse broke down in tears at his murder trial while on the witness stand as he described the events of Aug. 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.”
James wrote, “What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off!”
“That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court,” he added with three laughing emojis.
What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court. 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/LKwYssIUmD
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 11, 2021
As CNN notes, “Rittenhouse testified Wednesday that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a man who had thrown a plastic bag at him and chased him last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in what is likely to be the pivotal testimony of his homicide trial.”
During his testimony, he said, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.”
Eventually, he broke down in tears, as IJR reported.
James quickly received criticism for his comment on social media:
You're a coward.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 11, 2021
Oh, and would you be saying this if he weren't white? Or if he held the same political views as you did? https://t.co/CBJT3gOf8z
You’re literally known as the king of faking injuries, flopping, and crying to refs.
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) November 11, 2021
Maybe sit this one out? https://t.co/dNrbS1ZwNg pic.twitter.com/AaefGH5S2z
You're a genuinely terrible and unintelligent person. https://t.co/rSUaFukxbW
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) November 11, 2021
James was not alone in suggesting Rittenhouse was acting. Joy Behar, co-host of ABC’s “The View,” said on Thursday, “That acting job of the crying? I can’t even look at it.”
“That’s one of the worst acting jobs I’ve ever seen,” she added.
Earlier this year, James received backlash after he weighed in on the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant in Ohio.
He shared a picture of the officer who shot Bryant, 16, as she appeared to lunge toward another individual with a knife and wrote, “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.” However, he later deleted the tweet.
After the backlash and focus on his initial tweet, James wrote, “I fueled the wrong conversation about Ma’Khia Bryant and I owe it to her and this movement to change it. Thank you to [Fabiola Cineas] for educating us about Ma’Khia and her story and why this needs to be about her.”