Michael Jordan has issued a frank response to the relationship between his son Marcus and Larsa Pippen, the wife of his former teammate, Scottie Pippen.
The father-and-son relationship turned sour after the release of the popular Netflix documentary series The Last Dance in 2020, but the romance between his 32-year-old son and Larsa, 49, has only added fuel to the fire. Larsa had previously claimed Michael had given her his blessing to date Marcus but earlier this month, the six-time NBA champion was asked by a reporter if he approved of their relationship, to which he said “no.”
According to Marcus, he reached out to his father to discuss the matter, to which the former Chicago Bulls star replied: “You don’t need my approval.” During an appearance on the Separation Anxiety podcast alongside Larsa, Marcus claimed the root of how Jordan feels about his relationship is due to the strained relationship with his former Bulls teammate, but also suggested his father’s comment may have been a joke.
“His goal has always been to stay clear of our relationship,” Marcus said. “Look, at the root of it all is my dad’s relationship with your ex, Scottie. Obviously, we never talk about it and I don’t think my dad wanted to comment on that. There’s always that narrative and rumour that I’m dating you in some sort of way to get back at whatever says. So, if my dad comes out and says, ‘Yes,’ he’s fuelling that narrative of… whatever. But, I think he said, ‘No,’ just as a joking way knowing how Jordans play around.”
He then added his father had contacted him soon after the paparazzi encounter to make sure his comments were not perceived in the wrong way. “I can only assume my dad, because he loves Cincoro and he drinks tequila all the time, that he was feeling himself a little bit,” Marcus said.
“Obviously we knew ahead of time because he called me and texted me and wanted to make sure that I didn’t take anything the wrong way but then when the article came out, he texted me again and he never said ‘hell no’ and that’s not what the implications were." Larsa married the seven-time All-star Pippen in 1997 and the pair divorced in 2021.
During the podcast, she provided her view of the situation and claimed she was left ‘traumatised’ after comments she made on the Tamron Hall Show earlier in 2023 where she claimed both families were on good terms with her relationship with Marcus. “It literally went everywhere,” Larsa said on the podcast.
“I think people started to think that online they were saying that I was lying — that I lied and said that our parents are fine because I was doing interviews and saying both of our families are fine.
“But it probably is awkward for my ex [Scottie Pippen] and your dad because they have their own relationship or whatever it was. I wasn’t a part of that, you weren’t a part of that. So I feel like for them it probably is weird, it probably is weird for your dad. I can’t be mad. I understand… Oh my god, I was traumatised. I was like what are we going to do, people think I lied.”
Jordan and Pippen's relationship has not been the same since the Last Dance hit Netflix, as the former small forward has repeatedly voiced his displeasure over the 10-episode series and taken shots at Jordan as a result.
