LeBron James ripped for mocking Kyle Rittenhouse’s breakdown in court

LeBron James pointed reaction to vision of Kenosha gunman Kyle Rittenhouse breaking down during his murder trial has been slammed.

LeBron James is being ripped for mocking teenager Kyle Rittenhouse’s breakdown on the stand.

The 36-year-old Lakers star posted a series of laughing emojis alongside footage of the 18-year-old Kenosha gunman overwhelmed by sobs Wednesday, a breakdown that forced a halt to his trial.

“What tears????? I didn’t see one,” wrote James, a vocal black rights activist.

“Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court,” the Los Angeles baller wrote on his @KingJames account, ending with the three laughing emojis.

Within hours, the New York Post reports his tweet had more than 200,000 likes but also 17,000 comments, many outraged at the latest outburst by the player, who previously tweeted a photo of a cop along with the caption, “YOU’RE NEXT.”

“LeBron James appears to be mocking people dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in this post. Why?” asked Aaron Carpenter, a local councillor in Ohio.

“Is this a joke to you? Not a good look!”

What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court. 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/LKwYssIUmD

— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 11, 2021

Others asked why the athlete is “on the wrong side of every issue.”

“When you revisit traumatic memories it comes out differently emotionally and/or psychically,” Harminder Singh wrote of Rittenhouse, whose sobs came as he recalled fearing for his life from Black Lives Matter rioters who he testified were trying to snatch his AR-15 before he opened fire.

“Understand the subject before commenting on it,” Singh advised James.

Kyle Rittenhouse breaks down in tears on the stand as he testifies during his murder trial.

Another commentator suggested James must have “watched literally zero coverage of this trial, otherwise he might not post something that is so out of touch.”

“I am quite surprised by Lebron actually using his voice and this platform to make such a [sophomoric] statement.”

Many also stressed that you do not have to support Rittenhouse — who is being tried for the murders of two men and attempted murder of a third — to believe he would still be traumatised by the experience.

“Bad form Lebron — 18 year old kid with the weight of the world on him,” one fan wrote. “Possibly spending the rest of his life behind bars. Forgive him if he breaks down.”

Another fan, Jesse Muckinhoupt, wrote, “Bruh. Regardless of how you feel about the situation you could show maybe a little better character.”

Many also posted images of James in tears in his own court — a basketball one — with one writing, “Big talk from you considering you had to be taken off court for a leg cramp.”

Many also reminded the Lakers star of his earlier scandal over his inflammatory tweet after the fatal police shooting in April of Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, as she lunged at another girl with a knife in Columbus, Ohio.

LeBron James is currently sidelined with injury. Picture: Harry How/Getty Images

James later apologised for tweeting out a photo of the officer along with the seemingly threatening caption, “YOU’RE NEXT.”

“Remember what happened the last time you ran your mouth about a shooting? About the same thing here,” Afghan war veteran and one-time congressional candidate Chris Manning told him.

Another wrote, “Hey King, sit this one out. You don’t have a good history with these takes.”

“I love you lebron, but you need to educate yourself and stop race baiting. You are making things worse,” wrote one fan whose bio says “Lebron is my GOAT,” for greatest of all time.

“First calling out that cop and then deleting your tweet when the facts actually showed you spoke too soon. Same thing here.”

Radio host Dan O’Donnell had a witty take on James’ claim of bad acting.

“If you are suggesting he was somehow faking it, then he is a much better actor than you were in Space Jam,” O’Donnell wrote of James’ 2021 movie in which he starred alongside cartoon characters.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as LeBron James ripped for mocking Kyle Rittenhouse’s breakdown in court