Comedian and UFC uber fan Theo Von has said some truly out-of-pocket things in his time, like when he compared Joe Rogan’s physique to a Thanksgiving Turkey. But this time, he may have gone just a tad too far.
The stand-up comic’s under fire for shooting off about conservative commentator Candace Owen. Nothing wrong with that, comedians roast celebrities all the taime. But Von may have crossed a line when he brought Owen’s toddler daughter into it, comparing the child to Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith.
Von, a regular at pay-per-view events over the last 18 months, has always used being outrageous as a tool, taking a normal conversation someplace else with his unique point of view. It’s mostly hilarious, but sometimes it is not —and even downright offensive.
Like his crack about Candace Owen’s daughter. For sure, we can see how a toddler might look like Anthony Smith — the smooth face, the hairless head, and the whole schtick — but you say that stuff behind people’s backs and definitely not to the child’s mother, especially on social media. But Theo seems to have missed the memo.
“And I’ll say this, this is a little girl on the right, she looks like, and this guy is also a very handsome guy, she looks like Anthony Smith,” Theo told Owens.
Realzing immediately he might have crossed a little line there, the podcaster tried to reign in the damage and explained -“He is one of the greatest UFC fighters.” “Bring up a photo of Anthony Smith as well.”, he told his producers.
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Thankfully, the podcaster dialled it down immediately after and confessed, “Shouldn’t say that because she’s going to get upset.” Except he didn’t put as much effort into it.
“Okay, yeah, never mind, you have a beautiful family,” Theo said awkwardly. Understandably, Owens seemed surprised by Von’s suggestion. Thankfully, that’s all she was. Having seen Owens lose her cool at people at times, Theo really got off easy on that one.
Meanwhile, unaware of his resemblance to the Blexit founder’s baby, Smith is currently preparing for a comeback fight.
Lionheart’s last hurrah
As UFC returns to Kansas City in May, the former 205 lbs title contender will take on Chinese prospect, Mingyang Zhang in a fight that he has confirmed will be his definitive final fight in combat sports.
“It’s really just because it’s not about fighting itself. It is about everything that surrounds it that I’m just not as willing to do anymore. My kids deserve it. My children deserve not to have this thing all the time. And just not have me constantly waiting on the next big thing.“, he told MMA Fighting.
Smith has been contemplating not pursuing this career anymore for more than a few months now. Prior to his UFC 310 fight last year, Smith had spoken to Von about being down with grief following the death of his friend Scott Morton.
It also didn’t help that he lost to Dominick Reyes via a round-two KO. Von would later post an encouraging message for Smith, showing his admiration for ‘Lionheart’ being able to fight despite being heartbroken.
“All love to my man @lionheartasmith for showing up no matter what circumstances are happening,” Von wrote on Instagram.”
At this point, one can only hope that Smith’s retirement is as iconic as his career has been.
Oh, and if you are still wondering if Theo made it out of the conversation with Owens’ alive, don’t fret. He managed to get a laugh out of the conservative speaker.
