Steph Curry Got a Lecture About Conspiracy Theories from Astronaut Scott Kelly
- 5 years ago
Steph Curry recently went on the Winging It podcast and said he didn't really believe that astronauts had landed on the moon. “We ever been to the moon?” Curry asked the other speakers on the podcast. Several people responded, "No." Then Curry said, “They’re going to come get us. I don’t think so either. Sorry, I don’t want to start conspiracies.”
But start a conspiracy he did. Curry was almost immediately lumped in with flat-earth truther and fellow NBA star Kyrie Irving. The Washington Post said it was the "biggest faked-moon-landing story" since 2002, when Buzz Aldrin straight up punched a conspiracy theorist in the face after he claimed Buzz hadn't walked on the moon. NASA invited Curry to the lunar lab in Houston to look at moon rocks. And on Friday night, the Sacramento Kings played footage of the moon landings while introducing the Warriors lineup.
Curry was already in backpedaling mode. "Obviously I was joking when I was talking on the podcast," he told ESPN last week. But he said he would take NASA up on its offer, and he acknowledged the power of education and the responsibility of celebrity to not tout conspiracies.
"Hopefully people understand that education is power, informing yourself is power. For kids out there that hang on every word that we say, which is important, understand that you should not believe something just because somebody says it. You should do your homework and understand what you actually believe," he said.
And somehow, still, the controversy still wasn't over. Over the weekend, Curry spoke with retired astronaut Scott Kelly via Instagram Live. Kelly, who spent a record number of days in spaceflight (520 days total), and whose literal DNA was altered while he lived up there, emphasized the importance of disproving conspiracy theories with science.
But start a conspiracy he did. Curry was almost immediately lumped in with flat-earth truther and fellow NBA star Kyrie Irving. The Washington Post said it was the "biggest faked-moon-landing story" since 2002, when Buzz Aldrin straight up punched a conspiracy theorist in the face after he claimed Buzz hadn't walked on the moon. NASA invited Curry to the lunar lab in Houston to look at moon rocks. And on Friday night, the Sacramento Kings played footage of the moon landings while introducing the Warriors lineup.
Curry was already in backpedaling mode. "Obviously I was joking when I was talking on the podcast," he told ESPN last week. But he said he would take NASA up on its offer, and he acknowledged the power of education and the responsibility of celebrity to not tout conspiracies.
"Hopefully people understand that education is power, informing yourself is power. For kids out there that hang on every word that we say, which is important, understand that you should not believe something just because somebody says it. You should do your homework and understand what you actually believe," he said.
And somehow, still, the controversy still wasn't over. Over the weekend, Curry spoke with retired astronaut Scott Kelly via Instagram Live. Kelly, who spent a record number of days in spaceflight (520 days total), and whose literal DNA was altered while he lived up there, emphasized the importance of disproving conspiracy theories with science.