By Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Sports journalist
Officially retired since May 2023, Carmelo Anthony has previously marked the minds of NBA fans on multiple occasions. For example, some have not forgotten his viral photo with… Rihanna, on which he ended up delivering some revelations.
Over the years, she has regularly appeared at the edge of the playing fields. NBAand more precisely in the front row of the Crypto.com Arena. Without really positioning herself as a big fan of the Lakers, Rihanna attended several of their meetings to see LeBron James. It must be said that the King maintains (too) good relations with herjust like another league legend he is friends with.
Carmelo Anthony finally explains his viral photo with Rihanna
Besides LeBron, Rihanna has already had the opportunity to see Carmelo Anthony in his works on the floors. She even crossed his path on other occasions near New York. This was for example the case in 2014, as part of the traditional Met Gala which is held there every year. The two stars were also photographed together on this occasion and thus caused a buzz on social networks:
Read also
Carmelo Anthony: “Players don’t want to be Steph Curry anymore, they want to play like…
Even more than his presence alongside the famous artist, Melo then generated numerous reactions via his look on this photo. Ten years later, he returned to this funny scene in his podcast 7PM in Brooklyn with explanations:
-Carmelo Anthony : I'll tell you the real story. The Met had just ended and we were all there having a good time.
Every time a celebrity arrived, the cameras flashed wildly. The room was small, there were all these flashes… It was a real uproar when you got there. I managed to get past the photographers and sit down. I was in my comfort zone and trying to keep a low profile. Except then Rih showed up, the photographers went crazy and she only had one place to go.
I was standing there with my head down thinking, “Please don’t come here!” » When I looked up, she was there posing. That's why I made that face.
Contrary to what Internet users may have believed, the glorious winger was not admiring “Ri-Ri”, but rather… cursing her. So appearances can sometimes be deceiving.
At the time married, Carmelo Anthony was accused of ogling Rihanna during the 2014 Met, following the publication of a photo which clearly suggested this. However, this would only be a misunderstanding according to the speech offered by the principal concerned ten years later.
