La La Anthony recently traveled to Japan with her 17-year-old son, Kiyan Anthony. The actress and tv personality has sparked a debate after sharing photos of her and retired NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony’s son.
The 6’4, 186-pound high schooler was recently named the No. 1 player in New York for the class of 2025.
In one of the pictures posted to La La’s Instagram page, the 42-year-old mom of one can be seen hugging Kiyan from behind. Another post features another image of the teenage boy with his arm around his mom while she is wearing a mid-drift shirt, sparking criticism online.
In addition to those images, Kiyan also recently got his mother’s face tattooed on his arm, his second after getting his first tattoo for his 16th birthday. Footage of the ex-Long Island Lutheran High School shooting guard’s tattoo also received backlash online.
“This is beyond weird,” read a tweet on X addressing Kiyan’s body ink. Another user on the social networking platform joked, “Melo somewhere saying where’s the tat of my face?”
One individual voiced a more positive viewpoint about the tattoo, writing, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea personally wouldn’t get it but hey he gonna be in the NBA the kid future is good. lol.”
The Shade Room reshared the pics of the mother-son duo son from their trip, and commenters on the post likened La La and Kiyan’s poses to ones usually seen done by romantic partners.
“This is exactly how Draya and Jalen look… mother and son,” one person wrote. Another Instagram user expressed, “I thought it was Draya and her baby daddy.”
The relationship between Jalen Green, 22, and Draya Michele, 39, drew a lot of scrutiny for their 17-year age gap. In June 2024, Michele addressed the fallout over getting pregnant by the Houston Rockets player.
“I don’t know what people’s problem is. Two adults being in love, ya know, I don’t know why that would rub people the wrong way. It’s kind of weird. Love is love at the end of the day,” the former “Basketball Wives LA” star stated in an interview with TMZ.
Draya & Jalen Green Gets Stopped By TMZ With The New Baby!! @LouYoungIII 🤰🏾👶🏾😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/SB9mhjSXFA
— SoulFood66 (@BlackAndNative1) June 30, 2024
La La’s Instagram carousel garnered more negative reactions beyond the Draya Michele comparisons. For example, fault-finders suggested the “Power” actress views her teenage son as a spouse.
“Stop making your sons y’all husbands and go find one,” someone declared. Similarly, a like-minded person commented, “A lil too couplely for me. That’s your son not man.”
La La married Carmelo Anthony in July 2010 after a six-year engagement. Their nuptials were filmed for VH1’s “La La’s Full Court Wedding” docuseries. Kiyan Anthony was born on March 7, 2007.
In June 2021, La La filed for divorce from Carmelo four years after they split up in April 2017. She later admitted that moving from Denver to New York because Melo was traded from the Nuggets to the Knicks played a part in the separation.
“I think that was kind of the start. Now that I look back, that was kind of the start of the demise of the marriage,” La La Anthony acknowledged during a 2022 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
There were also rumors that Carmelo cheated on La La multiple times during the marriage, including unsubstantiated reports the former NBA scoring champion fathered twins with another woman.
Melo allegedly welcomed a daughter named Genesis Harlo in 2016 with a woman named Mia Angel Burks. He was spotted with the child for the first time that same year and later mentioned her in an Instagram video in May 2023 announcing his retirement.
Melo’s alleged infidelity became one of the talking points around the polarizing photos of La La Anthony and Kiyan Anthony. However, several commenters also backed up La La as a mother.
“Carmelo really fumbled the ball, but this ain’t about him, my good sis look so genuinely happy and her baby boy is handsome,” a supporter added, referring to their divorce.
Another La La fan implied her critics should start therapy sessions. The person posted, “Nothing wrong with being very close with your mom. If you have something negative to say about these pics, please seek help for your trauma.”
