A sports fan has accused undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather of homophobia after he rejected the male teen’s photo request due to his painted nails.
The spurned fan chronicled the episode on his cellphone following the Los Angeles Clippers game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. The teen approached Floyd and his crew hoping to capture a once-in-a-lifetime selfie.
The teen began recording as he approached Floyd who was orbited by a thick security detail. What Mayweather seemed to say in response to the young fan’s request bruised his feelings.
“You got painted nails, I don’t take pictures with guys with no painted nails,” Mayweather says in the video as he heads for the exit while his bodyguards stiff-arm fans to get them to back up.
The fan, whose sensibilities were rankled after being rebuffed by the boxing legend, provided some post-Mayweather commentary to convey his disappointment.
“D—, bro! Floyd’s a homophobe,” the fan exclaimed as Mayweather walked away. “Floyd doesn’t want to take a picture with me because my nails are painted. Bruh, really?!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chi0L7IqFzY
The optics of the fan rejection is worsened when Mayweather reportedly posed and smiled in photos with other fans before encountering the man with the painted nails, TMZ reports.
Mayweather has not responded to the airing of the fan’s video. When The Shade Room posted the video to its Instagram page, it ignited a debate about fan-celebrity interactions.
“He know he wrong simply could’ve said no pictures,” one observer said after watching the video.
“Now y’all finna throw the homophobic word around,” another person countered.
What do you make of Mayweather’s response, and do you believe it could have been handled differently?
