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The Internet Wants To Boycott Space Jam: A New Legacy After LeBron James’ Controversial Tweet

The sequel to a beloved 1990s favorite isn't exactly the type of movie that typically invites controversy, but Space Jam: A New Legacy has been embroiled in several online furors over the last few months, and the latest involves a tweet from star LeBron James.

Space Jam: A New Legacy
Space Jam: A New Legacy

The sequel to a beloved 1990s favorite isn’t exactly the type of movie that typically invites controversy, but Space Jam: A New Legacy has been embroiled in several online furors over the last few months, and the latest involves a tweet from star LeBron James.

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James’ social media post was interpreted by some as a threat being made to the police in the wake of a recent shooting in Columbus, Ohio. While the NBA star has since deleted the tweet in question and followed it up with two more statements explaining why he reacted in the way he did, it’s still been enough to get people talking.

First off, though, here are those aforementioned statements:

And here are some of the reactions going around on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/RIRepublicans/status/1385004168033755142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1385004168033755142%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

https://twitter.com/MagaCatfishes/status/1385060781784449027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1385060781784449027%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

https://twitter.com/YtMankerrr/status/1385022147165368322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1385022147165368322%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

https://twitter.com/cathleen_huston/status/1384998499385856000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1384998499385856000%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

https://twitter.com/Pieropatriot221/status/1385066242315153412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1385066242315153412%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

https://twitter.com/NoahPBPerkins/status/1385025605310185473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1385025605310185473%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

https://twitter.com/usa67us/status/1384999939491565568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1384999939491565568%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2021%2F04%2F23%2Fspace-jam-a-new-legacy-boycott%2F

This is just the latest bout of adverse publicity to strike Space Jam: A New Legacy, although the previous headlines grabbed by the live-action/CGI sports comedy weren’t quite as serious. There was the whole Pepé Le Pew fiasco, with some people clutching their pearls in indignation that the amorous animated skunk had been dropped from the movie despite nobody caring in the slightest until the news became public, as well as the altogether more bizarre discourse surrounding the de-sexualization of Lola Bunny.

Then the team behind A New Legacy found themselves accused of double standards after cutting Pepé but including the Droogs from A Clockwork Orange despite their unsavory antics in Stanley Kubrick’s classic film, but the leading man coming under fire and facing accusations of issuing threats to law enforcement is a whole different ball game, no pun intended.

In any case, Space Jam: A New Legacy is coming to theaters and HBO Max on July 16th, so we’ll just have to wait until then to see if the box office numbers end up being affected by the calls for a boycott.