Jey Uso is trending over a clip with Zilla Fatu after some fans became convinced he dropped the N-word during their conversation. The problem is the audio is such a mess that plenty of people watching the exact same clip can’t even hear him say it.
The moment came from a YouTube video Fatu uploaded documenting his journey to NXT. He met up with Jey along the way, and the two sat down to play chess while talking. That’s where the clip currently making the rounds came from. During the game, Jey appears to say something that some fans interpreted as, “Hold up, n****, you tough.”
However, actually hearing those words is a whole otherstory. They were sitting in an open area surrounded by other people, with conversations and background noise coming from several directions. The line is extremely difficult to make out, and the audio isn’t clear enough to definitively establish that Jey said the N-word. It’s even difficult to rule out the possibility that another nearby voice is responsible for whatever people are hearing.
None of that stopped Twitter from running with it, as one fan said: “LMFAOOOOO jey dropping the N word.” Another fan brought up their own experience as a Samoan growing up in the Bay Area while discussing why the alleged use of the word might not be particularly surprising to some people.
“As a Samoan who grew up in the Bay, most of my Black friends never had an issue with me saying it. I’m trying to phase it out out of respect and say uce instead, but I wonder if the Bay’s melting pot plays a role.”
One fan thought people were taking the whole thing far too seriously: “Man they basically n**** 🤣 stop being so sensitive all the time bruh.” Then came the other side of the argument, because not everyone could figure out what people were hearing in the first place.
“And when does he say it exactly?? I deadass don’t hear anything”
Another fan flat-out rejected the claim that Jey said it at all, making it very clear that they feel people are really reaching here because it’s social media: “Yea i’m ngl yall reaching bro did not say the N word but social media full of idiots who’s gonna believe it”
That’s ultimately what makes the entire controversy messy. The clip is trending because people believe Jey dropped the N-word while hanging out with Fatu, but the audio itself doesn’t come close to providing a clean answer. Fans are hearing completely different things from the same few seconds, and there simply isn’t enough clarity to state as fact that Jey actually said it.
Do you think Jey Uso actually dropped the N-word in the clip, or are fans hearing something that isn’t there? Let us know in the comments below.
