Floyd Mayweather said he doesn’t “take pictures with guys with no painted nails”. (TMZ)
Boxer Floyd Mayweather was caught on video refusing to take a photo with a teenage boy because he had painted nails.
In a video released by TMZ and recorded by the young fan, Mayweather can be seen at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles for a Clippers NBA game.
The teen fan approached Mayweather, who was being escorted through the crowd by a security guard, to ask the boxer for a photo.
Mayweather took one look at the teen, before declaring: “You got painted nails, I don’t take pictures with guys with no painted nails.”
The security guard then asked the teen to step back, before Mayweather walked away.
The fan is then heard saying: “Floyd’s a homophobe. Floyd doesn’t want to take a picture with me because my nails are painted. Bruh, really?”
After the video was released, boxing fans took to Twitter to condemn Mayweather’s “fragile masculinity”, and one shared a photo of their own painted nails.
He wrote: “To the teen boy, a lot of cool adult men have painted nails. Don’t ever stop being yourself.
Floyd Mayweather should only dream of having your strength. #Solidarity #NailsHaveNoGender.”
Floyd Mayweather refused to take a picture with guy because he had painted nails. The fragile masculinity of it all…
— 5 Miles to Messy (@AshleyShyMiller) October 25, 2021
https://t.co/8dCNX6Pjw0
I never was a fan of Mayweather. I’m even less of a fan of him now. Homophobic asshole.— Cassandra Rose Santana (@cassiTX817) October 25, 2021
To the teen boy, a lot of cool adult men have painted nails. Don’t ever stop being yourself; @FloydMayweather should only dream of having your strength. #Solidarity💅🏳️🌈#nailshavenogender https://t.co/fllwZS4k3V pic.twitter.com/GK1ib4Ad41
— Rabbi Daniel Atwood (@RabbiAtwood) October 25, 2021
Floyd Mayweather previously called rival Conor McGregor a ‘f****t’
In 2019, during a press conference to promote an upcoming fight with MMA star Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather accused his rival of being a racist, before shouting: “You punk. You f****t. You ho!”
Mayweather, who was jailed for domestic abuse in 2012, spent weeks refusing to apologise for the comment.
He finally told media in attendance during an open workout: “There are certain boundaries you just don’t cross.
“In the press tour when I said something toward lesbians or gays when I said something toward him.”
In 2010, Mayweather also came under fire after he was caught on video referring to boxer Manny Pacquiao as a “f****t” several times. He later apologised.