‘Please cancel me!’: Michael Rapaport on public feuds, racism rows and hip-hop attitude

He's the actor turned sports commentator whose remarks are never far from a controversy. Will he ever watch his words?

Michael Rapaport does not want to lose his cool. And for most of our otherwise pleasant and meandering visit over Zoom in June, he doesn't. Until Kevin Durant's name comes up.

Back in April, Rapaport tweeted screenshots of a private Instagram exchange with the Brooklyn Nets swingman that came after Rapaport criticised one of Durant's post-game interviews. In it, the 11-time NBA All-Star unleashes a fusillade of profane insults - leaning on homophobic and misogynistic language as hard as he does undersized defenders on the low block - before invoking Rapaport's wife and challenging him to a fight.