“Maybe He Argued With Juanita Vanoy”: Aries Spears Defends Michael Jordan For His Icy Interaction With Chamillionaire

Stand-up comic Aries Spears joined DJVlad for an interview recently. During the same, the Chicago native touched on an infamous interaction between Michael Jordan and rapper, Chamillionaire.

The hip-hop star had built his reputation from the late 1990s and his status eventually reached the point where he found himself at the same party as His Airness in 2009. As a basketball fan, Chamillionaire felt compelled to ask Jordan for a signed jersey and a photograph, though he would be shot down in brutal fashion.

“When I heard that Chamillionaire story, the one thing I thought to myself was — listen, we all are susceptible to bad days. Now, I would think, if you’re Michael Jordan, what’s a bad day? But maybe he argued with Juanita [Vanoy], maybe he got into it with his agent, I don’t know,” Spears commented on the incident.

MJ’s interaction with Chamillionaire certainly soured his impression in some minds. The rapper divulged the story and recalled Jordan’s harsh words later.

“‘Hell no! I ain’t taking no picture with no n**gas!” Jordan told the rapper.

Embarrassed, Chamillionaire gave it another shot. “I just bid $7,000 for a Michael Jordan jersey. And then he goes ‘You know what? I tell you what. You pay $15,000 right now for a jersey from me and I take a picture with you’.”

That’s certainly not a good look for the six-time NBA champion. But as Spears argued, there could have been a number of personal incidents that painted Jordan’s demeanor that night. Though, it likely wouldn’t have been a fight with his ex-wife Vanoy since the two separated in 2006.

“I haven’t walked in his Jordans… So I don’t know, maybe he had a bad day. Does that excuse the way he acted with Chamillionaire? It’s very s**tty that he did that but I don’t know,” Spears argued.

However, there are several stories that point to a history of MJ disrespecting members of the hip-hop community.

N.O.R.E stated that Jordan hated rappers

N.O.R.E of Capone-N-Noreaga fame rose to prominence in the East Coast hip-hop scene following Jordan’s second retirement. In 2017, he was on Radiodotcom when he revealed that MJ was biased against the hip-hop community.

“Jordan is a hater of hip-hop,” he stated.

“He only likes HOV, that’s it…. I’ve seen him shut Redman at a Def Jam Christmas party. We was all sitting there, waiting to speak to Michael Jordan and n***a said, ‘Yo Redman and Method Man is here.’ He [Jordan] said, ‘F**k rap.’”

For the uninitiated, Method Man cut his teeth with the legendary Wu-Tang Clan while Redman was among the biggest names on Rick Rubin’s Def Jam label. For most, they are considered rap royalty, and N.O.R.E. was shocked to see Jordan treat them with such disregard.

Stories like this lend credence to the notion that Mike isn’t a fan of the hip-hop community as a whole. And perhaps it was that distaste that led to his disrespectful interaction with Chamillionaire.