A recent scene in HBO’s Winning Time has portrayed a scene of sexual assault that is stirring up fans and celebs such as Magic and Kareem alike.

Fans and celebs alike are reacting to HBO’s Winning Time series, a fictional recounting of the events that led to and surrounded the Showtime Lakers of the 1980’s. More recently, the series’ eighth episode portrayed then Lakers owner Jerry Buss sexually assaulting the nurse of his dying mother. This caused outrage to increase around the already controversial show.

Fans react to Winning Time controversy

“#WinningTime is ok…the scene where Dr. Jerry Buss (John C Riley) starts to cry in the car to make a move on his moms nurse is really messed up. I know most of the show is complete bs & for entertainment purposes. It just seems really awkward to throw that scene in.”

https://twitter.com/resse_johnson54/status/1518413522241302530?s=21&t=T1DrGU_qXbaU-reW-6QtQQ

“The scene with Jerry Buss and the nurse was assault and rape. She was clearly uncomfortable #WinningTime“

“And people are celebrating it, too. Weird.”

“But the number of people who thought it was awesome shows that rapists know exactly what they’re doing! #WinningTimeHBO“

“They’ve changed a lot of facts just to make it a better story. Fact is, they didn’t need to change anything. The real life stories is just as great.”

“A lotta old Lakers are mad. Kareem said they were “lies”. Ppl took issue bc Chick Hearn was portrayed as a homophobe. As if we don’t know that facts get changed for narrative purposes all the time. McKinney’s bike accident didn’t go down exactly like that. It’s not a documentary”

“They really had Dr. Buss crying to get some sympathy box from his the hospice nurse taking care of his dying mom. Show is absolutely shameless”

“In response to #WinningTime Magic went and made an entirely different show to deflect Kareem doesnt see the humor and wrote a blog about how problematic it is Jerry West is angry and demands an apology idk man, it kinda seems like the show nailed all 3 characters”

Magic, Jerry West, and Kareem react to Winning Time

“.@BillPlaschke wrote an outstanding article in the LA Times about Jerry West and his contribution to the @Lakers and Los Angeles. He means so much to the Lakers organization, with a resume that includes winning a championship as a Lakers player, leading my Showtime Lakers to 5…”

“…NBA Championships, trading for Kobe, & working with Dr. Buss to bring Shaq to LA. Jerry helped develop us on the court as basketball players & off the court as men, a reason he remains close to a lot of former Lakers today, including me. The article is a must read!”

When asked how he felt about the show, Magic said he wasn’t excited about it and promoted his own show.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also wrote a column on Winning Time and the many problems he had with the series.

Abdul-Jabbar prefaced his response with this quote:

“First, my response to the show has nothing to do with how I’m portrayed, the details of which I’ll discuss later. I’m 75, folks, and have been dealing with positive and negative descriptions of me for 55 years and I long ago accepted that it’s just part of the celebrity gig. There’s very little that anyone can say about me—whether it’s true or false—that will affect my life. Especially in a TV show. I don’t get mad if someone wants to portray me as basically a T-800 Terminator robot. My record as a college and NBA player and my lifetime commitment to social justice is enough for me.”

The Logo, Jerry West, also had problems with his portrayal in the show. West’s lawyers released a statement on their problem with both the series and the former Lakers player as a, “rage-aholic.”

“Winning Time falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic,” saying that “bears no resemblance to the real man.”

“The portrayal of NBA icon and L.A. Lakers legend Jerry West in ‘Winning Time’ is fiction pretending to be fact — a deliberately false characterization that has caused great distress to Jerry and his family,” said Skip Miller, a partner at the Miller Barondess LLP law firm in Los Angeles and attorney for West. “Contrary to the baseless portrayal in the HBO series, Jerry had nothing but love for and harmony with the Lakers organization, and in particular owner Dr. Jerry Buss, during an era in which he assembled one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

“Jerry West was an integral part of the Lakers and NBA’s success. It is a travesty that HBO has knowingly demeaned him for shock value and the pursuit of ratings. As an act of common decency, HBO and the producers owe Jerry a public apology and at the very least should retract their baseless and defamatory portrayal of him.”

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