Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob thought it’d be good idea to invite Rihanna to sit next to him for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
It wasn’t.
The pop star shamelessly and relentlessly cheered for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the series opener, and Lacob grew so exasperated with her that he had to switch seats.
Joe Lacob insists he didn't give Rihanna tickets. She bought them but Lacob noted that she rooted for LeBron the whole game. #behindthegame
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) June 6, 2015
Lacob also denied the funny rumor that his fiancé forced him to move away from RiRi.
Lacob: "Everyone has it that I moved my fiancee next to (Rihanna) because she got upset I was sitting next to Rihanna, which was not true."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) June 6, 2015
The singer was conspicuously absent from Game 2 Sunday night.
Per CBS San Francisco:
“She bought seats, down, down, paid a lot of money for them. And, she can root for whoever she wants, right?” Lacob said.
Lacob explains that he upgraded Rihanna’s seats to be nice, “I took my two kids, who like to go to a lot of games and I booted them down to the end of the court, and seated her next to me. Seat her next to the owner, it’s a nice thing to do,” Lacob said.
But, Rihanna’s rooting was enough to distract Lacob. […] “She was rooting for LeBron the whole game, and finally I got irritated and I said (whispering), ‘I am the owner of the Warriors,'” Lacob said, adding “Finally, I just said, ‘that’s it,’ and I moved a few seats away.”