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Odell Beckham Jr. joined LeBron James’ HBO show “The Shop” on Tuesday to explain how he feels about fame and the expectations from fans that he should bend to their every will.
The New York Giants star, who recently signed a five-year, $95 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in football, said he feels like a “zoo animal” at times.
“To me, I be feeling like, I tell people this all the time -- I really feel like a zoo animal. Like that’s where life’s gone for me,” he said. “You know, you used to take your kids to the zoo and we used to be like, you know, 'I want to see the lions' or 'Let’s go see the lions.' And you go out there, and the lions are laid out. You know what I mean?
“And it’s like, why aren’t they doing lion stuff, you know what I mean? Like I’ve got people who call out, 'Odell! Dance!' Like, I’m a show punk, a show monkey or something. Like I’m a puppet, you know what I mean? And it’s like to me, that doesn’t feel good, but it’s like, damn, that’s what life became. But, can you ever really detach from that?”
Beckham and James also talked about the expectations that come with being a black athlete. The Los Angeles Lakers star said there’s a double standard when it comes with being African-American, saying there would be a different response if he did one thing and a guy like Aaron Rodgers did it too.
“And we’re doing the same s---, the same exact s---, I’m talking about the phone is on. We’re like, ‘Yo, get that f-----g phone out of my face. I’m with my family.’ If we’re out with our family, and we say that s---, and somebody posts it, and if Aaron Rodgers or one of those guys say that s---, and they post it, somebody’s going to be like, ‘Hey you guys should respect Aaron Rodgers,’” James said.
Beckham then told the story about an interaction with a fan who wanted to take a picture with him.
“I had it happen the other day. I didn’t want to take a picture. Like, I’m like I’m really in a rush, I’ve got to go. I get on Twitter, it’s like, oh, yeah, I’m a Giant season ticket-holder for thirty years. I’m like, ‘First of all, you’re twenty-something,’” he said. “And then, it’s like, oh, he’s an a------, he didn’t want to take a picture.”