Scottie Pippen's ex-wife said she was "embarrassed" and "traumatized" over what seemed to be Michael Jordan's public disapproval over her relationship with his son.
Larsa Pippen, 49, addressed a video shared by TMZ Sports last week in which Jordan said "no" when asked if he approved of his son, Marcus, 32, dating his former teammate's ex-wife.
"I didn't think it was funny," Larsa said on the latest episode of her Separation Anxiety podcast alongside Marcus via TMZ Sports. "There's nothing funny about it."
"I was kind of embarrassed," she added.
Marcus claimed that his father had texted and called him to clarify that the comment was made as a joke and that addressing it positively could have fueled speculation that the couple's relationship stemmed from his own public falling out with his longtime former teammate. Larsa said she had been ensured numerous times that Marcus' family had no qualms about their relationship, but Michael's recent public statement would have changed the public perception.
"I was like traumatized," she said. "I'm like, 'Oh, my God. What are we going to do?' People think I lied."
Jordan was asked by TMZ Sports paparazzi if he approved of his son, Marcus, 32, dating Larsa Pippen, 48, while leaving Matignon in Paris on Sunday (July 2).
"No," he said before shaking his head while getting into an SUV.
In January, Larsa shared a photo of herself and Marcus with his armed wrapped around her and the two holding hands in front of a mural featuring Marcus' father's jersey at the Trophy Room boutique within the Jordan family residence.
"That's what I like, that's what we like," Jordan commented on the post.
The photo marked the first time Marcus was shared on Larsa's main feed since the two were initially spotted together at Zuma in Miami in September, with Larsa later claiming that the two were "just friends" to PEOPLE Magazine at BravoCon 2022 in October.
Larsa married Scottie Pippen in 1997 when he and Michael Jordan won their fifth of six NBA championships as arguably basketball's greatest duo in history. Reports of Larsa and Marcus' potential romance came months after Scottie slammed Michael in his memoir Unguarded over how Jordan was portrayed in the documentary The Last Dance compared to his Bulls teammates.
"They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates. Michael deserved a large portion of the blame," Pippen wrote. "The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn't have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director. ... Except Michael was determined to prove to the current generation of fans that he was larger-than-life during his day—and still larger than LeBron James, the player many consider his equal, if not superior.
"Even in the second episode, which focused for a while on my difficult upbringing and unlikely path to the NBA, the narrative returned to MJ and his determination to win. I was nothing more than a prop. His "best teammate of all time," he called me. He couldn't have been more condescending if he tried.
"Each episode was the same: Michael on a pedestal, his teammates secondary, smaller, the message no different from when he referred to us back then as his "supporting cast." From one season to the next, we received little or no credit whenever we won but the bulk of the criticism when we lost. Michael could shoot 6 for 24 from the field, commit 5 turnovers, and he was still, in the minds of the adoring press and public, the Errorless Jordan... Now here I was, in my midfifties, seventeen years since my final game, watching us being demeaned once again. Living through it the first time was insulting enough."
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