Michael Rapaport Addresses Kevin Durant Controversy and Vows to Keep Trash Talking Gary Dell’Abate
“Anytime I talk about your wife it’s in a complimentary way and anytime I talk about your wife it’s in the character of Baba Booey,” the actor explains to the Stern Show executive producer
April 5, 2021
Actor and regular Stern Show caller Michael Rapaport has been in the news lately after he shared messages he received from Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant. During a lengthy call with Howard on Monday morning, he defended putting the NBA forward on blast in a very public way. “Fuck the bro code, there’s no bro code … I met him once,” he explained. “When you hit me on a Tuesday morning and say, ‘When I see you, I’m going to spit in your face, something, something, anything about my wife other than your wife is gorgeous, your wife is fucking talented … I didn’t look at him as a basketball player, I didn’t look at him as Durant … at that moment, he was just a guy.”
After Howard played some audio of Michael heavily trash talking Stern Show staffer JD Harmeyer and executive producer Gary Dell’Abate, plus mentioning the latter’s wife, the actor firmly defended his actions. “I do not regret anything I said about that fucking gorilla,” he said of Gary before addressing JD. “I do not regret anything I said about that stuttering, stammering, four-eyed freak.”
When pressed by Gary as to why it wasn’t okay for Durant to bring up his wife despite the actor frequently mentioning his, Michael pointed out the differences. “There’s Booey and there’s Gary Dell’Abate,” he said of the distinction. “Anytime I talk about your wife it’s in a complimentary way and anytime I talk about your wife it’s in the character of Baba Booey.”
“I don’t want to be in the Michael Rapaport business,” Gary said when Howard questioned what he thought. “I don’t want to be at odds with him, I don’t want to be friends with him, I just want to be left alone.”
Michael, for his part, seemed to have found this ordeal to be a teachable moment, to a degree. “In regard to social media, I will be a lot more careful when I deal on social media. You have to learn from your mistakes,” he said of his public conflict with Durant. As for any conflict he has with Gary, however, Rapaport told Howard he plans to continue trash talking the Stern Show executive producer.
