A kiss in a holiday film usually signals a happy ending. But for Ayesha Curry, in her first leading role in the romantic comedy Second Chance Holiday, it’s become a point of contention.
Curry plays Chelsey, a dating expert with her own romantic troubles. As in seemingly every romantic holiday movie ever made, she shares a kiss with her on-screen love interest, Matthew Daddario. That innocent act caused a wave of criticism, including a comment from Gilbert Arenas on the “We Said What We Said” podcast episode released November 7.
“The only blemish in the family is the wife,” Arenas exclaimed, adding that the public wants to hear less from the wives of basketball greats. “She hasn’t been the American wife that the public knows.”
Steph addressed the comments directed at his wife with a video on his Instagram on November 11.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of noise, and usually the noise doesn’t bother me, doesn’t bother Ayesha, but this one in particular, when you try to step on the accomplishments of my wife and obviously leading podcast tapings and topics, giving opinions on somebody else’s wife…” he stated.
He called out hosts Arenas, former NBA player Nick Young, sports analyst Emmanuel Acho and anyone else, adding: “To jump in and give an opinion on something you really don’t know about, [that’s] something that speaks to a bigger conversation on how you view women in this world and what they’re allowed and what they’re not allowed to do.”
Steph suggested the hosts congratulate his wife on her accomplishments, challenged them to deliver apologies with the same prominence as their criticism, and then threw in a snarky dig.
“Appreciate the free pub. Thank you for giving a nice shout-out to Second Chance Holiday, which y’all can find on Roku, starring Ayesha Curry,” he concluded.
Young apologized directly for the commentary in a follow-up video on Gil’s Arena. “I’m sorry, Steph. You my dawg. I love you.” While Arenas offered his own mea culpa: “I’m sorry if he’s offended. I didn’t mean it like that,” he doubled down on his previous characterization of Ayesha.
There’s a bigger issue with how Arenas characterized what a sports professional’s wife should be. His comments seem to belittle independence within marriage, especially for Black women married to high-profile men.
It’s a point basketball analyst and sideline reporter Ashley Nicole Moss also addressed: the expectation that marrying a prominent man means surrendering your own dreams and identity. Jemele Hill criticized Arenas’s treatment of Ayesha and his use of Cookie Johnson as an example of how a wife should behave. Robert Griffin III supported Steph and argued that other men should not speak disrespectfully about his wife.
Devon Franklin, Octavia Spencer, Ciara and more have praised Steph’s response. But Arenas has supporters as well, with many pointing to Ayesha’s past public comments, which often paint a less glorious view of her marriage and family life.
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That includes a 2019 Red Table Talk interview where she described feeling insecure about women pursuing Steph and the attention she received. While she stated she didn’t want it, she admitted it would be nice to know someone was looking. Steph publicly supported her on that occasion as well. praising her willingness to be authentic and vulnerable.
No matter your perception, one thing is clear: Steph will stand beside his woman and defend his partner whenever he feels she’s been wronged. Yes, Ayesha’s remarks and actions may feel inappropriate to some, but being married to a high-profile man shouldn’t mean having to stand down and stay quiet, or that everything said becomes a referendum on being his wife.
Only Steph and Ayesha get to define that in their marriage.