LeBron James had a heated exchange with a woman Monday night during the Lakers' win over Atlanta.- The 25-year-old woman was kicked out with her husband after telling James: "I will f--- you up."
- Later, James trolled her online by calling her "Courtside Karen."
"Courtside Karen."
That's what LeBron James called a 25-year-old woman who was ejected from the Lakers' win over the Atlanta Hawks after the two were involved in a heated exchange during the game.
James' feud with the woman, who has since been identified as Juliana Carlos, began in the fourth quarter of Monday night's game after James was heckled by Carlos' husband, Chris Carlos, who is a courtside regular at State Farm Arena.
Video footage from the game shows James making comments toward Carlos while she responds angrily, jabbing her finger toward the four-time MVP.
Announcers on the broadcast compared Carlos to the popular "Woman Yelling at a Cat" meme for her finger-pointing.
According to Carlos, the confrontation began when James responded to her husband's heckling, to which she did not take kindly, standing up and yelling at the Lakers forward.
Before things escalated further, security stepped in and escorted the pair out of the arena along with two other friends.
"Just got kicked out of the game for talking s--- to LeBron James for talking s--- to my f---ing husband," Carlos said in a now-deleted Instagram story after the game.
"LeBron James looked at my husband during the game and cussed him out, and I stood up and I go: 'Don't f---ing talk to my husband. Talk to my husband one more time and I will f--- you up."
Carlos then accused James of calling her a "dumb b----" and telling her to shut up.
She said in another now-deleted Instagram story: "And he started fighting with me, he goes, 'Shut your mouth, dumb b----.' So I go, 'You shut your f---ing mouth, b----.'"
She added in a later story: "I have courtside seats that I pay for. F--- you, LeBron, you're a f---ing p----, get the f--- out of here. You're going to let a 25-year-old girl intimidate you during a game. Bye, b----."
You can watch the moment Carlos and her friends were kicked out below:
—Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 2, 2021
James says he was unfazed by his midgame war of words
While Carlos was clearly riled by the incident, James seemed to revel in it, referring to her on Twitter after the game as "Courtside Karen."
"At the end of the day, I'm happy fans are back in the building," James told reporters when asked about the confrontation. "I missed that interaction. I need that interaction. We as players need that interaction.
"I don't think it was warranted to be kicked out. There was a back-and-forth between two grown men, and we said our piece. He said his piece, I said my piece, and then someone else jumped into it and said their piece. I don't think they should have been kicked out."
James later commented on Twitter, deploying the cultural meme of the "Karen."
"Courtside Karen was MAD MAD!!" he wrote.
—LeBron James (@KingJames) February 2, 2021
The Lakers won, 107-99, moving their record this season to 16-6.