ᏞеΒrοᥒ Јаⅿеѕ Μοϲkѕ Αttаϲkіᥒɡ Ꮃοⅿеᥒ Ꭰᥙrіᥒɡ Μаtϲһ: ‘Ϲοᥙrtѕіdе Κаrеᥒ Ꮃаѕ Μаd Μаd!

Courtside Karen' Jumps In During An Exchange Between Her Husband And LeBron James | LittleThings.com

Fans are excited to get back to seeing sports live, and players are excited to have them there. The beauty and sometimes hilarity of the fan/player exchange was front and center on Monday night, when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are one of several NBA teams that have let fans back in the stands.

The fans, it turns out, were ready to be on their worst behavior. The game was interrupted in the fourth quarter when fans yelling at LeBron James were confronted by security. These weren’t any ordinary hecklers, however. Commentators noted how one of the hecklers — a screaming woman whom LeBron later dubbed “courtside Karen” — looked like the meme of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kyle Richards seemingly yelling at a confused cat.

The woman — dressed to the nines and ready to scream at LeBron for allegedly cursing at her husband — has been identified as 25-year-old Julianna Carlos, and she is defending her “Karen-like” behavior. She’s a regular at Atlanta’s basketball games and insists LeBron was in the wrong.

During Monday night’s game between the Lakers and the Hawks, the entertainment shifted off the court momentarily. More specifically, the attention went courtside to some incredibly extra hecklers who had to be ejected for their behavior.

It all started with frequent Hawks attendee Chris Carlos heckling Lakers superstar LeBron James.

The heckling went on for some time before it went too far. LeBron responded to the heckler, and the exchange made Chris’ 25-year-old wife, Julianna Carlos, lose her cool. She began cursing and jabbing her finger at LeBron in a way that reminded many of the meme of Kyle Richards screaming at a cat.

The couple and their two friends were asked to leave the game following the altercation. And since this went down in the fourth quarter, LeBron was asked about it post-game.

“At the end of the day, I’m happy fans are back in the building,” LeBron told reporters.

“I miss that interaction. I need that interaction. We as players need that interaction.”

“I don’t feel like it was warranted to be kicked out,” he continued.

“There was a back-and-forth between two grown men. We said our piece, he said his piece, I said my piece, and then someone else jumped into it and said their piece, but I don’t think they should’ve been kicked out.”

“But they might’ve had a couple drinks maybe and probably could’ve kept it going and then the game wouldn’t have been about the game no more, so I think the referees did what they had to do.”

Some who chimed in on the incident online pointed out that on top of being obnoxious, the woman may have also put people at risk by removing her mask to yell.

“I don’t think taking down the mask or whatever the case may be at that point in time would harm anybody but the people who was right next to her,” LeBron noted.

“I wasn’t close enough to her. I don’t think my teammates were close enough to them. Maybe a couple of refs maybe, so I hope they’re OK, but safety first.”

In later comments on the incident, LeBron noted the fan had passed a certain line of respect.

“I love the fans, but I don’t take that kind of talk from anybody. There’s a line that should never be crossed,” he said.

“She came at me with blatant disrespect, so I told them to sit their [expletives] down. I thought I was talking to a father and daughter, until she started calling him husband. I was stunned.”

LeBron gave Julianna her new nickname in a tweet following the game. “Courtside Karen was MAD MAD!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣,” he wrote.

The nickname was trending into Tuesday morning as everyone chimed in on the incident.

Julianna had her own expletive-ridden side of the story, in which she claims LeBron started cursing at her husband, who was simply being a Hawks fan. She then claimed he used derogatory language toward her, which is why she started yelling. At the end of her video, she criticized Lebron for being intimidated by her.