Former boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather has repeatedly said that “Only god” can judge him for his long and disturbing history of physically abusing women. The semi-retired boxer sits on millions, while claiming that although he’s been convicted multiple times, the accusations are merely “just hearsay and allegations.”
According to Soraya Nadia McDonald of The Undefeated, there are numerous reasons Mayfield has been able to have a successful career given his history of abuse. “There are no publicly available photos showing the evidence of his crimes; there’s no central organization to hold Mayweather and other abusive boxers to account; and there’s an understanding, however contentious, that some boxers are inherently violent, their rage uncontrollable,” McDonald wrote.
Men’s Health caught up with the boxer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where he was hawking his new virtual reality workout program. After discussing his new project, the interviewer asked Mayweather about the #MeToo movement. This softball question gave Mayweather an easy chance to improve his image as an abuser, but Mayweather decided to make it all about himself.
“When you say ‘me too’ … When somebody is like, ‘I got a Rolls Royce, I be like ‘me too,’” he told Men’s Health. “When somebody say they got a private jet, I say, ‘Me too. I got two. Me too.’” When pressed again about the #MeToo movement, Mayweather deflected the question by talking about his money. “My Me Too movement from the beginning was whenever somebody said what they have I’m like, ‘me too.’ Somebody say they got a billion dollars, I say, ‘I made a billion dollars, me too,’” Mayweather joked.
The interviewer gave Mayweather one final chance to add something meaningful to the discussion.
“I think everyone, if you’re in an uncomfortable position, you have to pray about it, you know, talk about it, and I think that, you know, sexual harassment, I don’t think it’s cool at all,” he said.
So there you have it. If you twist Mayweather’s arm, he’ll tell you sexual harassment isn’t “cool.”
