Former ESPN host Britt McHenry has faced a wave of backlash after viral footage appeared to show her throwing a drink at a fan before being booed while attending an NBA game on Wednesday night.
McHenry, who joined the Trump administration last month as a press advisor at the US State Department, was watching the Washington Wizards’ season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks when the confrontation unfolded.
Video obtained by TMZ appeared to show McHenry throwing a drink toward a fan seated next to her before leaving Capital One Arena.
As the former ESPN personality made her exit, other spectators nearby appeared to throw objects in her direction.
However, TMZ reported that there may have been more behind the incident. Sources claimed McHenry stepped in after fans seated behind her allegedly made disparaging comments about Bucks star Kyle Kuzma’s fiancée, Winnie Harlow, who has vitiligo.
Another source told Page Six: ‘They were saying he plays terribly because his girlfriend’s ugly’ along with other ‘terrible’ remarks.
Former ESPN host Britt McHenry has faced backlash after viral footage appeared to show her throwing a drink at a fan during a Washington Wizards game on Wednesday night
McHenry recently joined the Trump administration as a press advisor at the US State Department
According to the outlet, McHenry confronted the fan over the alleged remarks before the dispute escalated and she threw the drink.
Although other fans appeared to throw items at her as she walked out, McHenry seemed unbothered, blowing kisses toward the crowd and waving as she left the arena.
The mood appeared to shift once she reached the arena concourse, where footage showed her involved in a heated exchange with a staff member directing her to leave.
A source close to McHenry, however, disputed the suggestion that she had been removed, claiming she left voluntarily and headed to the bar.
The Daily Mail has contacted the US State Department for comment.
The controversy comes just over a month after McHenry announced that she had accepted a position as a press advisor at the diplomatic agency, working under Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
McHenry shared the news with a photograph of herself standing beside the official seal in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington.
‘It is true,’ McHenry wrote on X. ‘I am honored to serve as a newly appointed press advisor to the State Department, our country’s highest diplomatic institution. Proud to serve for and work alongside some truly incredible people.’
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A source claimed McHenry intervened after overhearing fans allegedly making disparaging remarks about Winnie Harlow, the fiancée of Bucks star Kyle Kuzma, who has vitiligo
A source claimed McHenry was not removed from the arena and instead left voluntarily
In a separate LinkedIn post, McHenry wrote: ‘I am beyond excited to start this new chapter today and am thankful to every person who helped me in pursuing and achieving this opportunity.
‘For 17 years, I have worked on camera covering the news. Now, I get to take that experience and apply it to our country’s highest diplomatic agency.
‘As a fellow Floridian, I have followed and admired Secretary Marco Rubio’s political career from its inception to the outstanding leadership he shows today in the Administration,’ McHenry wrote.
‘He has appointed an exceptional staff, and I look forward to serving them and our nation.’
The appointment marks the latest chapter in a turbulent media career that has seen McHenry frequently entangled in high-profile workplace scandals and legal battles.
She spent three years as a Washington DC-based reporter for ESPN before being fired in 2017 during a sweeping round of company layoffs.
During her tenure at ESPN, McHenry made headlines in 2015 when she was suspended after security footage caught her berating a towing company clerk.
She later issued an apology, admitting that she ‘allowed my emotions to get the best of me’ during an intense moment.
Following her ESPN exit, McHenry transitioned toward right-wing political commentary, making appearances on Fox News Media and Fox 5 DC.
McHenry, a former ESPN host of Arlington, Virginia, alleged that for months in 2018 that Tyrus sent her sexually explicit text messages as they both worked on their show Un-PC
In 2019, she filed an explosive sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox News and co-host George ‘Tyrus’ Murdoch, accusing him of sending sexually explicit text messages and claiming the network retaliated against her after she complained.
In her lawsuit, filed in New York district court, McHenry claimed she ‘suffered humiliation, emotional anguish, derailment of her career and significant loss of economic opportunities’ after she raised concerns about Tyrus, a former WWE wrestler whose real name is George Murdoch.
McHenry had alleged that for months, in 2018, Tyrus sent her sexually explicit text messages as they both worked on their show Un-PC. She said when she complained, Fox Nation executive Jennifer Rauchet, who was also named in the lawsuit, told her she was ‘replaceable.’ Tyrus had denied the allegations.
The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by both parties in 2021 after reaching a confidential settlement.