Michael Rapaport

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Dan Le Batard's criticisms of the Lakers hiring Magic Johnson last week drew strong blowback from ESPN colleagues Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Wilbon, but information technology's the response from actor Michael Rapaport that's turned into an all-out war.

Rapaport initially criticized Le Batard's comments on Twitter and said that Le Batard'southward father isn't qualified to be on his evidence. Le Batard producer Mike Ryan then started diggings Rapaport's acting career, Rapaport shot dorsum, boyfriend Le Batard producer Roy Bellamy got involved, and Rapaport then tweeted him what looks similar a racist caricature. (There'southward a recap of the Twitter feud here from Slice Miami, but annotation that it comes with a very pro-Le Batard slant.)

Le Batard then went in further on Rapaport himself on Monday, saying he "actually loves black people" and "seems similar he wants to be black," and predicting Rapaport (who's contributed to ESPN'southThe Jumpand other programs as a guest, and directed thethirty For 30"When The Garden Was Eden") was "done" at ESPN. This then went to a whole new level Tuesday when Rapaport spent all 42 minutes of the latest episode of his I Am Rapaport podcast bashing Le Batard, even calling him a "twinkie-eating f— boy". Here's the total file:

Rapaport and then spoke to The Wrap'southward Brian Flood most why he did this, proverb it was specially in response to Ryan's merits that he had had herpes and that he'd contemplated further legal activity:

"In the picture show, it looks like I got like a cut, infection or if y'all wanna pop sh–, a herpe," Rapaport said on his Tuesday podcast earlier explaining it was actually an infected lesion that gave the actor a pare cancer scare. "And and so I got a letter from my lawyer… If this guy is saying that you take herpes, that's defamation."

…"I feel bad about the whole incident," Rapaport told TheWrap on Wed. "But I was under assault and being publicly defamed, then I needed to respond. I wish it never got this far."

Just he besides had plenty to say about Le Batard, his producers, and their other comments:

Rapaport repeatedly referred to Le Batard as the "Cupcake Child" on his Tuesday podcast, adding, "Get the f— out of here, yous fat f—."

"You're claiming that I'thousand non going to work at ESPN? Let me tell you something, if I'g going down, the whole sh–'southward burning downwardly. If I'thou going down, we're talking defamation case," Rapaport said. "These guys laughing and giggling like they're going to finish my career… If I sh– my pants and dropped dead. That sh– in my pants, on my expressionless body would be more relevant than anything you did in your whole life."

This is perhaps the almost remarkable media feud in some time. Information technology'due south noteworthy that the vast bulk of Rapaport'south podcast episodes (he's put out 269 now) are him interviewing someone else; Le Batard and his producers got under Rapaport's skin enough to hogtie him to spend a whole 42 minutes attacking them. And while the threats of legal activity are common, attorneys Flood spoke to recall Rapaport might take a instance for defamation, especially over the herpes claim. But the other incredible element of this is that these are two ESPN-associated personalities not simply disagreeing, but going at each other in incredibly graphic and personal terms. It makes the days when the network suspended Nib Simmons from Twitter for three days for criticizing First Take seem downright tame in retrospect.

Nosotros'll see if at that place are whatsoever further implications from this feud, either in the realm of litigation or in ESPN discipline for any of the parties. Just this is certainly something. Foul-mouthed feuds aren't new to Rapaport, of course (consider this 2014 one with Fasten Lee), and he'southward played plenty of villains and tough guys (including Daryl Crowe Jr. on Justified), but it'southward new to see him in a total-out state of war with a ESPN personality. Who will emerge victorious?

[The Wrap]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously worked at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.