When the week started, we highly doubt that Master P could have predicted that he’d be catching flack for taking shots at Kobe Bryant and the Kardashians. But on Wednesday, about 24 hours after Lamar Odomwas found unconscious in a Las Vegas brothel, TMZ Sports caught up with Master P and asked him about the situation. Master P has known Odom for more than a decade now, so he called the situation “sad” and then proceeded to call people like Kobe and the Kardashians “phony” and “fake” for coming to Odom’s side now but not being there for him in recent months.
That apparently struck a nerve with Kobe, who seemed to respond to Master P on Twitter yesterday afternoon. And after seeing what Kobe had to say—as well as others who were critical of him yesterday—Master P took to Facebook this morning to release a statement about why he said what he said when he spoke with TMZ Sports. Specifically, he addressed the “phony” and “fake” comments and admitted that even he had stopped speaking with Odom recently because of the things that were going on in his personal life.
Here is Master P’s full statement:
Master P speaks truth..he says, "If you're real with someone, you keep it real through the good and bad times. I understand first hand from dealing with my own brother that was living recklessly, I had to show him tough love but I'd never cut him off because we're blood. I'm not pointing the
finger at anyone, Lamar's unfortunate situation is a result of his own decisions and actions. I can relate to D.L. Hugley's statement on dealing with family members with addictions, it's draining. I'm not a phony, I can admit that I stopped dealing with Lamar years ago for those same reasons. Even
though I've known Lamar for over 15 years, it wasn't like we were the best of friends. I tried to mentor him and give him advice but he is a grown man and made his own decisions. You can't help anyone that don't want any help and I get that, that 's life. So that's why I stopped dealing with Lamar,
it's not like we're blood related where I would have to put up with his reckless behavior. I'm sure Lamar has many people in his life such as family members, friends, colleagues, teammates, significant others who have stopped dealing with him but I'm just not afraid to openly admit it, due to his
unfortunate medical situation. I can also admit that me and my family are far from perfect, we have situations we're dealing with. My prayers are going out to Lamar and his family. I pray that he comes out of this, he may have a rocky past but overall he's a good brother. And the only reason I'm not
running to the hospital to visit him, I'm not looking for publicity, I don't need it. Only when I was asked, I stated my opinion on what I knew about this man from the times I was around him. Lamar complained about how everybody turned their backs on him, even his nba buddies. But then people blew
my opinion out of proportion. I understand that Kobe is one of the greatest basketball players in the world and people are going to side with him. I have nothing against Kobe or the Lakers. I have nothing to hide and I'm willing to speak face to face with anybody, with Kobe or Kardashians about the
conversations that Lamar and I have had concerning him trying to get his life back together and getting back into the league. I'm not about entertaining no mess and I'm only speaking on this because I knew this brother. I hope that if ever I was in a similar situation where I couldn't speak for
myself, that somebody would keep it 100 for me. The truth hurts, even in Hollywood. My condolences to the people that really love him. And I am not trying to question the support of others that are truly grieving, this is a critical, life and death situation. This is only my opinion, it's just sad
that last month no one had anything positive to say about Lamar.. and that's what I meant by being phony.
We know we said this yesterday, but let’s hope that this is now the end of this bizarre series of events. There are more important things than Master P vs. Kobe and the Kardashians going on right now. Continue to #PrayforLO.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via TMZ Sports]
