Juliana Carlos – the woman who shot to social media notoriety after being dubbed ‘courtside Karen’ by LeBron James – has apologized after her clash with the NBA icon and has reportedly escaped a ban from future games.
Carlos was ejected along with husband Chris after they heckled James as the Los Angeles Lakers played the Atlanta Hawks at the State Farm Arena on Monday night.
Juliana had reacted furiously after claiming that James had “cussed out” her husband, laying into the four-time NBA champion and later issuing a series of foul-mouthed tirades at the star on social media, alleging he had called her “a b*itch.”
But in a distinct change of tone, Carlos – who has seen herself propelled to overnight fame with her Instagram following swelling to more than 75,000 – has now issued a mea cupla for the ugly scenes.
“About last night… To say things escalated quickly at yesterday’s game is an understatement, and I want to apologize for losing my cool and removing my mask in the heat of the moment,” wrote the blonde on Tuesday.
“My husband is a huge sports fan and we’re passionate people, and let’s be real: sports wouldn’t be sports without a little trash-talking.
“What should have been a quick back-and-forth between two adults got out of hand… Did I use offensive language when I could have taken the higher road? Yes. And for these things, I take full responsibility.”
Carlos – who says she is 25 – went viral for the incident, not least after James tweeted that “Courtside Karen was MAD MAD.”
James, 36, had shrugged off the row afterwards, even claiming that Carlos and her husband should not have been ejected, but suggesting that alcohol was a factor in the bust-up.
A fresh comedic breakdown of the spat shows Carlos ripping into James in supposed defense of her husband, before the basketball star was reported as saying “shut up, ranky a**” – apparently referring to Juliana, before calling her husband “old steroid a**.”
NBA fans had launched mockery against Carlos while some had even called for her to be banned from further games for her behavior, including lowering her facemask to yell at James.
However, the Hawks – who are among a limited number of teams to allow fans into their home arena to watch games – will apparently not ban Juliana and Chris Carlos or two others who were ejected along with them.
There will be no ban forthcoming for the four courtside fans ejected from Monday's Hawks-Lakers game, now that the Atlanta Hawks have conducted an investigation into the incident, a league source tells ESPN
Chris Carlos is a member of prominent Atlanta family business Republic National Distributing Co.
According to US media, the company is the second largest distributor of premium wine and spirits in the country and racked up revenue of $11 billion revenue in 2019.
Juliana Carlos reacted furiously to online suggestions that she was a ‘gold digger’ –raging after Monday’s incident: “Guess what, if I was a gold digger I would sit back and mind my own bee’s wax.
“But guess what, I’m not a gold digger. That’s my husband, I love him. If anyone disrespects him, I will check him, whether it’s LeBron James or a bum on the street.”
