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Monica McNutt, a New York Knicks and ESPN analyst, became the center of a social media firestorm in June during the NBA Finals when she was caught on a hot mic questioning Taylor Swift's Knicks fandom. Months later, she has a message for the Swifties who criticized her: she doesn't care.
Appearing on Ryan Clark's The Pivot, McNutt explained that her comment was a throwaway that people misinterpreted. She also said the backlash never bothered her because the internet is not real, and she opened up about Jalen Brunson coming to her defense.
The Comment That Sparked Outrage
During Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Swift was spotted in the crowd at Madison Square Garden. McNutt, on the Knicks radio broadcast, asked, "Is that Taylor Swift down there?" according to TV Insider. She then added, "She's not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl."
The comment quickly drew the wrath of Swift's fans online. McNutt later said she misspoke, explaining that she had thought Swift was supporting Travis Kelce, who is a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, according to E! News.
Brunson's Defense
After the Knicks clinched the championship, Brunson grabbed the mic during a postgame interview with McNutt. "I just want to say something to the Swifties," Brunson said, via E! News. "She's a really good one. Cut her some slack. It's all good, I promise."
McNutt's Response
On The Pivot, Clark asked McNutt how she handled the criticism. McNutt said she actually didn't care because she was too busy watching the Knicks win a title. "One of the PR folks is like, you know, you're going viral. And I was literally like, dude, I don't care. Did you just see that?" McNutt said.
She added that the comment wasn't supposed to be taken literally. "You got to be able to read a little colloquialism because 'girl, get out of here' is not literally 'get out of here,'" McNutt said. "So literally it's a throwaway comment, RC, that like, please, congratulations. You built an empire. You have an incredible fan base."
McNutt said the criticism was limited to social media, so she really didn't mind because it didn't impact her life. "The internet is not real. No one said anything to me, to my face about that other than the lovely reporter from TMZ," McNutt said. "Baby, I can close my phone and go on about my business. I am living literally my best professional life right now."
McNutt also said she wasn't expecting Brunson to defend her. "Jalen is just, he's so thoughtful. He's an incredible leader," McNutt said, adding that Brunson is the king of New York. "Tip of the cap to him for sure. I was not expecting that. It was really cool."
She closed with a message for her critics: "If you don't speak with any of the flavor that I speak with, you probably took that comment to heart, and it wasn't even that deep. And that's on you, not me."
Originally reported by yahoo.