Lakers center Jaxson Hayes recently sparked backlash for wearing a shirt depicting Erika Kirk alongside Druski’s parody of her.
The NBA player shared a picture of himself after fishing, posing in a shirt depicting Druski and Kirk as Shawn and Marlon Wayans on the cover of White Chicks.
On social media, people who didn’t like Hayes’ shirt quickly brought up past allegations of domestic abuse and false imprisonment from his ex-girlfriend.
Hayes’ shirt was a clear reference to one of Druski’s recent skits about conservative white women, even dressing up as a woman who appeared to be Kirk and parodied her grandiose public appearances and mannerisms in the wake of her husband’s murder.
Soon after its release, Kirk addressed the skit while speaking on The Charlie Kirk Show, claiming that she had “comedians dressing up in whiteface.”
President Donald Trump even gave his own perspective, providing advice for Kirk about how to address the situation. “OK. I think you should sue him. But you know what? I told her, you ought to sue some of these. They're so jealous of Erika,” he said during an Easter event at the White House.
Jake Paul also shared his own perspective, saying the video was “fucking hilarious” and proposing that he’d wear dark face paint to be “on the same playing field.”
“We should fucking make fun of each other. And I don't see in color, I see in truth and comedy. So like, what are we talking about? What era are we living in?” Paul said on an episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von.
With everything going on in his life, Hayes probably isn’t thinking too hard about the backlash for his shirt. If anything, he’s more likely thinking about the upcoming free agency period and whether he’ll return to the Lakers.
During a recent interview, Hayes was asked whether he’d like to return to the Lakers if given the chance. His response made it clear that he’d love to give it another go.
“Yeah, of course. I love this group of guys, I love this staff, I love this organization as a whole,” Hayes said. “I grew up watching Kobe, and I just love to be a Laker. I wear Kobes every day. I’d love to stay here, obviously. I hope so.”
“To be fair, I’ve been a free agent the past two summers,” Hayes added. “So, just gonna do it the same way, making sure I get better this summer every day and work on parts of my game. Just try to be ready for next year.”
