Ayesha Curry movie kiss: Steph Curry hits back, Gilbert Arenas apologises
Former players called Ayesha Curry's on-screen kiss a 'blemish' on Steph's family. He answered in a video, and Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young said sorry.
Stephen Curry has publicly defended his wife Ayesha after several former athletes mocked her on-screen kiss in the holiday film Second Chance Holiday, and two of them, Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young, apologised on Wednesday.
How it started
Ayesha Curry, a cook, businesswoman and actor, plays a lead in Second Chance Holiday, and one scene shows her kissing her co-star Matthew Daddario. Former NBA players Arenas and Young picked it apart on their podcast, and former NFL players Emmanuel Acho and LeSean McCoy also weighed in, questioning why she took the role and what it meant for her marriage. Arenas called her the “only blemish” in Curry’s family life and said she does not behave like other NBA stars’ wives, according to People and The Guardian.
Steph’s answer
Curry replied in a video of about 90 seconds on Instagram. He said the comments raised a bigger question about how men think women should behave and what they are allowed to do, and suggested the critics did not understand what acting is. He said that if the remarks were loud, “the apology can be as loud”, TheGrio reported. He ended the post with photos of Ayesha, the words “Keep shining” and a plug for the film. His sister Sydel Curry-Lee backed him in the comments.
The apologies
Arenas and Young apologised on Wednesday, BVM Sports and Today reported. We did not find a response from Acho or McCoy.
Why it struck a chord
The row went well beyond basketball fans, and in the UK it became one of the most searched names on Google. Plenty of Pakistani viewers will recognise the argument: actresses here, from drama stars to film leads, face the same questions about what a married woman “should” do on screen, usually from men who never ask the same of male actors. Curry, one of the most famous athletes alive, choosing to answer it head on is why the clip spread.
Second Chance Holiday is out now. Whether Acho and McCoy follow Arenas and Young with apologies of their own is the next thing to watch.
