The conflict
between the NBA and China
over the Hong Kong protests
continued this week.
But now, King James has stepped
into the fray.
MAN:
In Hong Kong tonight,
basketball superstar
LeBron James under fire,
his famed jersey up in smoke.
Furor growing over his response
to this tweet sent
by Houston Rockets'
general manager Daryl Morey
earlier this month
in apparent support of
anti-government protesters.
JAMES: I don't want to get
into a feud with Daryl.
Um, with Daryl, uh, Morey.
But I believe he wasn't educated
on-on the situation at hand.
MAN: Those comments setting off
a political brushfire
here at home.
Republican senators quick
to pounce.
Rick Scott of Florida writing,
"Clearly, King James is the one
who isn't educated
on the situation."
Nebraska's Ben Sasse--
"You're parroting
communist propaganda.
China is running torture camps,
and you know it."
Yes, LeBron James is getting
a lot of heat
for not taking a stand against
China and their oppression,
with people even burning
his jersey in Hong Kong.
Which, by the way,
if the NBA kept statistics
of most jerseys burned, I think
LeBron would dominate that, too.
Yeah. Yeah.
Hong Kong burns his jersey.
Cleveland burned his jersey.
Miami burned his jersey.
Like, forget Nike.
LeBron should get sponsored
by Kingsford lighter fluid.
That's what they should do.
(laughter, applause)
This guy's been killing it
in every field.
(applause)
And you know, normally,
I would agree
that NBA Players shouldn't have
to know the intricacies
of East Asia policy,
but at the same time,
Dennis Rodman is basically the
U.S. ambassador to North Korea,
so I don't know
what the rules are anymore.
I don't know how it works.
I also understand
why people think
LeBron's comments were
insensitive or misguided,
but at the same time,
I get where he's coming from.
Yeah. 'Cause the Houston
Rockets' GM slammed China
on Twitter when LeBron was
on his way to China.
So LeBron was probably like,
"Hey, man,
start this beef after I leave.
What's wrong with you, man?
I'm going there."
'Cause I would do
the same thing.
Like, if you asked me in China
what I thought about
China's policies, I'd be like,
"Uh, I think
China has policies?
"And they are the policies
that allow me
to fly home from China?"
(laughter)
All right, but let's move on
to a more American scandal
involving Gina Rodriguez.
Some people have said that
the Latina actor has a history
of making insensitive
or condescending remarks
about black people.
And yesterday, she did not
do herself any favors.
WOMAN: Be careful
what you post on Instagram.
Here is your fair warning
because actress Gina Rodriguez
learned that hard way.
♪ Voodoo, I could do
what you do, believe me ♪
♪ Niggas give me
heebie-jeebies... ♪
Now apologizing for using
the "N" word in a post.
Hey, what's up, everybody?
I just wanted
to reach out and apologize.
I am sorry.
I am sorry if I offended anyone
by singing along
to the Fugees
to a song I love,
that I grew up on.
I love Lauryn Hill.
And, um, I really am sorry
if offended you.
Okay, here's Trevor's tip
of the day.
If you insist
on saying the "N" word
when you're rapping along
with a song,
uh, don't do it on Instagram.
Yeah.
Do it on The Masked Singer,
okay? Yeah.
'Cause then,
people have to wait three weeks
to see if they get
to be mad at you. Yeah.
They'll be like, "I think
that was T-Pain who said it,
but if it was Donny Osmond,
his ass is in big trouble!"
(laughter)
I also think
rappers should help. Yeah.
'Cause, like,
they make the songs.
I think rappers could help
prevent these incidents
from happening
in the first place, right?
'Cause think about it.
Rappers already make songs
that are safe for radio.
I think now they need to make
versions of their songs
that are safe
for non-black people.
Yeah. They can just, like,
replace the "N" word
with something safe
like-like, "my friends."
You know what I mean? Yeah,
just change it. Just like...
♪ And if you don't know,
now you know ♪
♪ My friend. ♪
(laughter)
It's a lot safer for everyone.
(applause)
They should just do it,
to, like, every single song.
♪ Ball so hard,
m... wanna fine me ♪
♪ First my friends
gotta find me? ♪
And finally, some tech news
that'll change the way
you make obscene gestures
at your phone.
NEWSWOMAN: Google's newest phone
works without even touching it.
The Pixel 4 was unveiled
at an event in New York City.
Like Apple's iPhone,
users can unlock the Pixel
with their face, but the
feature getting the most buzz
is gesture control.
So let's say you're driving,
listening to music,
and you want to advance
to the next track--
you don't like that one--
or you want to go back
and listen to it again...
Google is hoping the new tech
will lead to more sales
in the highly competitive
smartphone market.
Wow!
The first phone
that will turn everyone
into a magician's assistant.
Call Mom.
(laughter)
This really is
amazing technology.
You can open your phone
just by waving at it.
No one's ever had
this technology--
except the front door
of a Walgreens.
-(laughter)
-Never have we seen it before.
You know what's weird is,
how, like, the way we unlock
our phones is evolving.
Right? Because first
we had to type in a code,
and then we just had
to pick it up and look at it.
Now we can just wave at it
without touching it.
It feels like we're, like,
slowing breaking up
with our phone.
Like, we're just moving away.
The next one will let you
unlock your phone be being like,
"It's not you. It's me."
You know who
I also feel bad for?
Bernie Sanders. Yeah.
He shouldn't get this phone.
He's gonna be setting
that thing off all the time
without meaning to.
It's just gesture control?
He's gonna be like,
"And that's why
we need to take on
the one percent."
-"Calling the one..."
-"No, no, no, I'm not calling!
I'm not calling!
Cancel! Cancel!"
