Jason Lee Says Athlete Got Petty After He Said No — Then Lawyers Got Involved [Video]

Jason Lee is making it very clear that his recent attempts at personal growth shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of backbone.

Video

The Hollywood Unlocked CEO recently hit social media to air out a legal situation involving a professional athlete who supposedly has Lee’s personal cell number but chose to communicate through lawyers instead. Lee expressed his frustration with the situation, noting that in over a decade of media dominance, he’s never seen a personal acquaintance try to lean on his staff with legal threats.

Reflecting on his current mindset, Lee addressed the situation with a mix of humor and sternness, stating, “I often say that I’m never judged by the grace that I give. And everybody knows that I have leveled up, that I have leveled out, and that I am doing my best to stay the course and be positive. But what I won’t do is let somebody play in my face and think that that grace that I gave is grace that is given forever. I’m still Jason motherf**king Lee, the honorable Jason motherfing Lee.”

The conflict centers on a cease and desist letter sent to the Hollywood Unlocked team, reportedly in an effort to kill stories about the athlete’s family life, stories that Lee points out are already common knowledge in the press.

Describing his shock at the move, Lee said, “Um, this past weekend-this past week—I got a cease and desist letter from an athlete. And I won’t say the sport denomination because you’ll figure it out. But this athlete sent my team at Hollywood Unlocked a cease and desist letter because they don’t want my staff writing stories about them and their family. That’s all in the news. And I am just taken aback that somebody who has my phone number, who’s used it before, and who knows how to reach me, would send me a cease and desist letter. In the 11 years I’ve owned Hollywood Unlocked, I’ve never received a cease and desist letter from somebody that I know.”

Lee jokingly credited a famous comedian for his restrained response, though he admitted he was tempted to go much further. He explained, “So, I just want to say that I’m on my best behavior because when I tell you the total wreckage that I wanted to create on this good internet the other day, I chose not to because the Lord that I serve knows that I am walking in my purpose right now and I am really trying to do better. And I blame Kevin Hart for this because Kevin Hart is the one that made me a softer person. Kevin, this is your fault.”

Despite the softer approach, Lee’s legal retort was anything but subtle. He shared the specific message he had his lawyer, Walter, pass along to the athlete’s side, hinting that the legal action might be rooted in a bruised ego following a personal rejection.

“But this is what I told my attorney in response to that because I want to stay the course on this positive approach, uh, at leading the culture, and leading my city, and leading the United States of America. I told my attorney Walter—I said, ‘Walter, please tell his attorney that I hope this letter is not motivated by me rejecting to spend the night at his house when he invited me a while ago because he wasn’t my type.’ And I just hope that that reject—that rejection—is not what caused the reaction. Because if you send me a legal notice to not do what my job is to do, then I will send you a retort to say that because I didn’t want to come spend the night with you, punk, stop playing with me with the law.”

The media mogul wrapped up his address with a definitive line in the sand. While he insists he isn’t looking to expose anyone’s private business, he warned that the “best behavior” ends if another legal notice hits his desk. Closing out his message, he stated, “Now, I know all of you want to know who this person is, and I’m not into outing people. But you send me another legal notice, you’re going to f**k around, and everybody’s going to find out. Happy Super Soul Sunday. Walk with God.”