The Hollywood studio behind the upcoming Space Jam sequel is staying silent after the movie’s star, LeBron James, singled out an Ohio police officer photographed at the scene where teenager Ma’Khia Bryant was fatally shot to protect another young girl.
James tweeted a photo of the officer with the ominous message “YOU’RE NEXT,” then deleted the tweet after he was accused of putting the cop’s life in danger.
Warner Bros. hasn’t replied to requests for comment from Breitbart News about James’s tweet. The studio is set to release Space Jam: A New Legacy in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16. It remains unclear if James will participate in the publicity campaign for the movie given the current backlash.
Watch below:
Police shot 16-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, after she appeared to attack another person with a knife during a wild altercation this week. Some left-wing activists have attempted to downplay the danger of the situation, claiming that teens have engaged in knife fights for “eons.”
Stacey Abrams (D) said there was “no justification” for the police shooting while MSNBC’s Joy Reid said she remembers fights in school where a kid had a knife “and teachers were able to diffuse that, and they didn’t have guns.”
In deleting his tweet, James attempted to explain his “You’re next” caption.
“I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn’t about one officer. it’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY,” he wrote.
Space Jam: A New Legacy qualified for $21.8 million in state tax credits to shoot in California. State regulations prohibit the studio from using tax credit dollars on above-the-line salaries, which would include LeBron James.
Warner Bros. cut the animated character Pepe Le Pew from the Space Jam sequel after far-left New York Times columnist Charles Blow accused the amorous cartoon skunk of normalizing “rape culture.” According to a Deadline report, a scene with Pepe Le Pew was planned for the movie but was never animated after the production changed directors.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com.