Less than a week after Disney fired actress and former mixed martial arts star Gina Carano for social media posts widely viewed as anti-Semitic, a Disney corporate partner involved the company in a minor controversy.
At UFC 258 media availability on Friday, UFC President Dana White, whose promotion airs on Disney’s ESPN properties, was asked about Carano’s situation.
White took the opportunity to spontaneously shoot Ariel Helwani, an ESPN official of Jewish heritage with whom he has a rivalry.
“Leave Gina alone,” said White. “Listen, we make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For everyone to participate in it – I love how Ariel Helwani did everything about him. It was all about him. What an idiot. “
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After a weekend in which several high-profile colleagues of Helwani on ESPN tweeted in support of his colleague while the company was silent, ESPN issued its first public comment on the situation on Monday.
“Ariel is a valuable colleague and an exceptional MMA reporter. Your track record speaks for itself, ”ESPN told the New York Post.
Helwani posted about it on social media over the weekend.
“As a Jew and as a human being, it just doesn’t go well,” said Helwani’s post in part. “And I wish she never posted that. And frankly, I wish someone had talked to her about her social media posts last year. Some of them are not even politicians. In general, they seemed strange to me. I’m sorry that she followed that path. “
White, who has been silent on his previous vocal support for former President Donald Trump since the Capitol insurrection on January 6, considered Helwani an enemy for years.
The most important dispute took place at UFC 199 in Inglewood, California, in June 2016. White was upset with Helwani, then employed by Vox Media, for reporting on Brock Lesnar’s planned return to the company before she could reveal the news about own during transmission. The UFC responded by revoking Helwani’s credentials, as well as his film crew E. Casey Leydon and Esther Lin, in the middle of the event. The trio’s credentials were restored several days later, after a public reaction.
The list of Current and former ESPN employees who spoke before the company issued its statement include Sarah Spain, Pablo Torres, Kenny Mayne and Dan LeBatard.