LeBron James: “I don’t want nothing to do with white people”

What I’m about to show you actually dates back to 2018, but it’s suddenly resurfacing online and gaining traction fast—and I think it deserves a real conversation.

Let’s start with the clip in question. It’s from LeBron James’s short-lived HBO show The Shop, where he openly says, “I don’t want nothing to do with white people.” That exact quote is real and verified—it’s not fabricated, not misheard. He said it. So the natural first question is: is this clip authentic? Yes, 100%. It aired on HBO on August 28, 2018, and was part of the pilot episode.

Predictably, when the clip recently went viral again, mainstream media outlets rushed to “fact-check” it. Reuters, for example, labeled the claims as “Partly False” and said the quote was “taken out of context.” But let’s break that down. What exactly is “partly false” here? And what was taken out of context?

In the full clip, LeBron is describing how he felt as a 14-year-old entering a mostly white Catholic high school in Akron, Ohio. He explains that growing up in a tough, predominantly Black neighborhood made him feel deeply distrustful of white people. His exact words:

“I’m not f***ing with white people… I don’t want nothing to do with white people… I don’t believe that they want anything to do with me.”

That wasn’t just a flippant comment—it was a detailed description of how he viewed an entire group of people, admittedly at that point in his life. Now, in fairness, it’s true that LeBron is recalling how he felt as a teenager, not necessarily how he feels today. But here’s the important thing: he never says in the clip that his views have changed. That sentiment comes from his business partner Maverick Carter, who chimes in to say that they eventually became close with their white classmates. But LeBron himself? He never says, “I was wrong,” or “I’ve changed since then.”

And that’s the core of the issue.

If the roles were reversed—if a white celebrity said, “I didn’t want anything to do with Black people”—do we really think the media would defend it as just a reflection of a childhood mindset? Would they say “it was taken out of context”? Most likely not. That person would be dragged through the mud, labeled a racist, and their career would probably take a massive hit.

So the question isn’t whether LeBron’s feelings as a 14-year-old were understandable or valid—many people struggle with prejudice and fear based on their environment. The real issue is how selectively we allow for “context” and “growth” depending on who’s speaking. Why is one form of generalization excused while another is condemned?

This resurfaced clip reminds us of a broader double standard in how race and bias are discussed in America. If we’re going to have honest conversations about race, prejudice, and reconciliation, then that has to go both ways. That means holding everyone to the same standard—no matter their background, status, or skin color.