LeBron James' Baby-Dunking Backlash

If you couldn't make out what LeBron James said after dunking the baby, it was: "Let's see if Angelina Jolie can adopt that baby." Don't rack your brain, it doesn't make sense and I'm not sure it's supposed to. I'm guessing this was LBJ's attempt to break the mold of his carefully constructed P.R. exterior with a little shock humor.

But as I'm sure you'll agree, it missed the mark. Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain Dealer ripped LBJ for the stunt in a column yesterday, pointing out the dry reception it received during the ESPYs (thanks to SLAM Online for the link):

No one except comedian Dane Cook acknowledged the ill-advised skit. Cook wondered if James' dancing in a Hammer/Bobby Brown send-up or "when he dunked the baby" was more tasteless.

And seriously, when Dane Cook is saying your humor sucks, you know you've bottomed out. Should anyone actually care about the dunk? I mean, isn't getting upset about a 15-second joke going a little overboard?

Maybe, but maybe not. Ignoring for a moment why LBJ was even pretending to dunk his kid in the first place, I happen to agree with Livingston who thought it was extremely odd that LBJ would take the chance to inject a shot at Jolie. She may be somewhat of a self-serving, attention-starved public figure herself, but at least she's a self-serving, attention-starved public figure not scared to use her fame to alert the public of a serious issue, that being the level of poverty children in third-world countries are exposed to.

That's not to say that both James and Jolie don't try to help in their own special way, but I find Jolie's strategy of adopting every other child she comes across much more effective than simply sticking them in front of a sewing machine to make more Nikes. In other words, LBJ has a long, long ways to go before he can start making fun of anyone actually trying to make a difference.
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Previously on FanHouse:
Live from New York, It's LeBron James!
Stephon Marbury Calls Out Michael Jordan
LeBron, Damon Jones Not Into Activism

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-19-2007 @ 4:25PM

JoshLove said...

dude, are you serious? I expect this kind of stuff from some decrepit newspaper columnist, but give me a break. it was just a joke, and while it certainly wasn't hilarious, it wasn't really that awful either. Conan and South Park and The Onion crack jokes about Jolie all the time, so what's the difference? no celebrity, regardless of how noble they may be, is above a little ribbing, especially when there's no real ill will like in this case.

7-19-2007 @ 6:13PM

davecurd said...

Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla came up with that joke, (Kimmel explained on Carolla's radio show before it aired, he didn't spoil the joke, just hinted at it's nature) and both thought that it would play edgy but funny. I myself can't really tell how it played because I missed the ESPYs and your headline kind of spoiled the punchline. I dunno Matt, this doesn't really seem like a big deal. I think Bill Livingston, like you, are in the same boat. It's the middle of Summer and until the next Kobe trade rumor, relevant basketball information runs lean.
Besides, it's the ESPYs, not the Oscars, I'd rather they try big jokes and fail than the mind-numbing "comedic" banter that usually passes for entertainment at these things.
Finally, about the nature of the joke itself, we are given-
*A severe brake in branding with "evil Lebron"
*A violent, unexpected bit of slapstick
*An attack on one of the more "untouchable" characters in entertainment.
The ingredients are there for something funny, I just don't think that it happened this time.

7-19-2007 @ 4:54PM

Ryan said...

Man its just a baby. I can show you some backroads in Mississippi where baby-dunking goes on all the time.

7-19-2007 @ 5:18PM

Denise said...

Oh god, more from the LeBron haters. No matter what he does, this blog just criticizes him for it. It was a dumb joke, nothing more. And agreeing with Bill Livingston will not help your sports writers cred. He just plain sucks and often has no idea what he is talking about.

Anyway, I bet even if he wins a championship, you'll still find something to critique. Leave it alone.

7-19-2007 @ 5:36PM

Brett said...

"I find Jolie's strategy of adopting every other child she comes across much more effective than simply sticking them in front of a sewing machine to make more Nikes."

That line's genius.

7-19-2007 @ 6:25PM

Matt W. said...

"Anyway, I bet even if he wins a championship, you'll still find something to critique. Leave it alone."

What does having a social conscience have to do with winning championships?

7-19-2007 @ 8:15PM

LB said...

Lighten up its a joke. I mean in comedy you have to push the envelope. If he played it safe all night then people would say he's protecting his corporate image. The Espy's isn't some serious show.

Sports is entertainment.

"Social Conscience" You sound like you are running for a political office. lol