Amid Stephen Curry’s brave act, members from the Curry den have also joined the party. His mother, Sonya Curry, joined the backlash after the superstar publicly called out Gilbert Arenas and other podcasters over their remarks about Ayesha’s acting career. Sonya did not hold back.
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Particularly when it came to Arenas and the NBA’s much-discussed brotherhood.
Reacting to Steph’s Instagram video, Sonya directly questioned the former players’ treatment of Ayesha.
“Exactly!! People have lost their minds! It’s really saddddd!!! So much for ‘Brotherhood’, especially Gilbert!!!! You can’t say you respect a person in one breath and then go at his wife in another!!”
Her comment focused on what she viewed as a contradiction in Arenas’ approach: praising Steph while making personal remarks about his wife. The reference to brotherhood was particularly pointed, given Arenas’ history in the NBA and his public association with the league’s former players.
Apart from her, Stephen Curry’s sister Sydel Curry-Lee also commented:
“HEAVY on how it speaks about how the world views women. Play with someone else. Enough is enough!”
The controversy began after clips from Ayesha Curry’s Roku holiday movie Second Chance Holiday circulated online. A scripted kissing scene involving Ayesha and co-star Matthew Daddario became a talking point on sports podcasts, with Arenas and Young criticizing the scene and making comments about her relationship with Stephen Curry.
Arenas even described Ayesha as the “only blemish” in Stephen’s otherwise picture-perfect family.
Steph eventually addressed the criticism in a video, naming Arenas, Nick Young and Emmanuel Acho. He challenged their understanding of acting and questioned why a woman’s professional work should be grounds for attacking her character. He also demanded a public apology, while turning the controversy into promotion for Ayesha’s film.
“I’d kindly suggest you just give the happy hands, the congratulations, and maybe, even just maybe, you know, the apology can be as loud as y’all leading y’all shows with this topic. So appreciate the free pub,” Curry said in his video.
Nick Young subsequently issued a direct apology to Stephen Curry during an appearance on Gil’s Arena. Arenas, meanwhile, offered a more conditional response while still defending himself.
“I’m sorry if he’s offended. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just saying that he’s such a perfect dude… but I am sorry,” Arenas said in Gil’s Arena.
Sonya’s intervention adds another layer to the family’s response. Having spent decades in the public eye during her marriage to former NBA player Dell Curry, she has seen how scrutiny can extend beyond athletes to their families.
For Stephen Curry, the issue was never simply whether people liked Ayesha’s performance. It was how people used that work to pass judgment on her personally. With Sonya now publicly backing her son, the Curry family has made its position clear:
Criticism of a film is one thing, but using it to attack a player’s wife is another. Most importantly, don’t dictate to a woman what she must do!