A woman who was branded a "Courtside Karen" after clashing with Lebron James during a Lakers game has now apologized.
On Monday (February 1), the LA Lakers vs Atlanta Hawks game had to be stopped halfway through after a female spectator began hurling abuse at the NBA star.
The woman, who has been identified as Juliana Carlos, and her husband Chris Carlos were supporting the Hawks. As such, they felt it appropriate to start heckling Lakers player James.
ESPN’s Sports Center has posted a video to its Twitter account, which shows Mrs. Carlos, with her mask pulled down, shouting at James.
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos were ultimately ejected from the game due to their behavior. Mrs. Carlos then took to her Instagram Stories to share her perspective on the incident.
"So, I’m minding my own business, and Chris has been a Hawks fan forever. He’s been watching the games for 10 years. Whatever. He has this issue with LeBron. I don’t have an issue with LeBron. I don’t give a f**k about LeBron," she said in the video.
"Anyway, I’m minding my own business … having fun. All of the sudden, LeBron says something to my husband, and I see this, and I stand up. And I go, 'Don’t f**king talk to my husband.' And he looks at me and he goes, 'Sit the f**k down, b**ch.'"
The Athletic has since reviewed footage of the confrontation and could not hear James using the word "b**ch" but he did appear to call Mr. Carlos "Ol' steroid a**".
After the game, James tweeted: "Courtside Karen was MAD MAD!!".
On Tuesday, Mrs. Carlos took to Instagram again, this time to apologize for the incident.
"About last night," she wrote. "To say things escalated quickly at yesterday’s game is an understatement, and I want to apologize for losing my cool and removing my mask in the heat of the moment."
Mrs. Carlos then went on to say that her husband is a "huge sports fan" and that they are both "passionate people"
She added: "Let’s be real, sports wouldn’t be sports without a little trash-talking."
"What should have been a quick back-and-forth between two adults got out of hand and my natural instinct to stand up for the man I love kicked in," the sassy spectator continued.
She concluded: "Did I get defensive when that happened? Yes. Did I use offensive language when I could have taken the higher road? Yes. And for these things I take full responsibility."
