E-40 is really taking the Warriors-Kings playoff series to heart — so much so, in fact, that he was removed from the opening game when he almost got into it with security.
The NBA playoffs officially kicked off on Saturday night (April 15), and the Bay Area legend was certainly feeling a type of way when his beloved Warriors — of whom he’s a die-hard fan — started fumbling the ball, and ultimately cost themselves the first of their seven-game series, losing to the Kings 126 to 123.
But accounts about what actually kicked off the kerfluffle vary. According to one eyewitness, it all started when a white woman asked the “Tell Me When To Go” rapper to sit down.
An unnamed fan told The Mercury News that the white woman had asked E-40 to “repeatedly” sit down, and he ultimately snapped and began exchanging words with her. The words, according to the account, included profanity, and things began escalating until they reached a boiling point.
E-40 — who was seated in a VIP section courtside at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center — was kicked out in the game’s fourth quarter.
Multiple Twitter videos from the ejection reveal that it was a member of the Warriors security team that escorted the rapper out of the building, and with injured Warriors forward Andre Iguodala tailing behind him
In the clips that surfaced online, it appeared that E-40 (real name Earl Stephens) continued to shout expletives as he was escorted off the premises.
Another video revealed that when Iguodala returned to the court, he was less than pleased with this turn of events. “Somethin went down tho,” one Twitter user wrote about Iggy’s return.
On Sunday (April 16), E-40 released a statement of his own about his recollection of events, and according to him, racial bias was at play in his removal from the game.
“On Saturday night, I was subjected to disrespectful heckling over the course of the Warriors-Kings game in Sacramento,” he claimed. “During the fourth quarter, I finally turned around and addressed one heckler in an assertive, but polite manner. Yet, shortly thereafter, Kings’ security approached me, assumed that I instigated the encounter and proceeded to kick me out of the arena.
Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent. Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
E-40 continued: “I’ve attended countless NBA games throughout my lifetime and have always prided myself in my professionalism, so this experience has been jarring. I was absolutely humiliated by the Kings’ security team and I’m calling on the franchise to investigate the appalling conduct that transpired.
I’m truly grateful for my fans and supporters who have reached out to express their concern and disappointment regarding these disheartening circumstances and I hope those involved are held accountable for their behavior.”
See E-40’s statement below:
Twitter wasted no time weighing in on the incident, with one commenter making reference to E-40’s classic hit “Tell Me When To Go.”
“E-40: ‘tell me when to go,’” the tweet began. “Security: ‘ok bet….that way sir…’”
Another commenter weighed in with a reference to another Hip Hop classic by 40 Water, “Captain Save a Hoe,” changing the title to: “Captain Save a Spot in the Parking Lot.”
You can check out these reactions along with many more below:
E-40 isn’t the only rapper under fire during this year’s NBA playoffs. Drake, has also been criticized for reportedly costing the Raptors a spot in the playoffs.
On Wednesday (April 12), the Raptors lost to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament, which means they missed the opportunity to play in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
In his post-game commentary, Pat Boyle of CBS Sports Radio claimed that it was Drizzy’s fault that Diar DeRozan — the daughter of Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan — let out a shriek each time one of the Raptors players went to take a free throw.
“That’s on Drake, really,” he said. “If you don’t have Drake and if that doesn’t work the niceties of offering her things to make her stop shrieking, you get physical. You get her out.”
He then doubled down on his claim with another tweet tagging the “Laugh Now, Cry Later” rapper in the video. “Explain yourself @Drake why weren’t you there last night? The Raptors loss is on you for not incentivizing Diar DeRozan to be quiet during free throws,” he wrote.
