A woman in North Carolina revealed in a viral clip that her son, following a visit to a zoo with his father during visitation, called her fiancé a “gorilla.” She managed to turn around the situation, but the backlash was so intense that the father, a former NBA player, issued a statement.
The woman, Tiffany Jeffcoat, shared the story on TikTok. She is a prominent content creator who was romantically involved with R. J. Hampton, a former NBA star and the father of their child, Halo. Tiffany is currently engaged to Isaiah Ihnen, also a basketballer, who plays for Liberty University’s Liberty Flames.
Having shared lifestyle content consistently, featuring Halo and Isaiah, the North Carolina woman’s newest clip became viral particularly quickly. It garnered 1.7 million views, 256,900 likes, and more than 800 comments in less than a day.
Tiffany shared that Halo had gone to the zoo with his father, R. J., during visitation. According to her, right after coming back home, the boy said, “Zay Zay [Isaiah], you a gorilla. Zay Zay, you a gorilla.”
Halo’s mother and Isaiah were both shocked to hear him say that, of course. Tiffany then asked him where he had heard that. According to her, the boy’s father was the one to blame.
‘Gorillas Are Family’
Tiffany turned the situation around, explaining that Isaiah was a gorilla because he was “big and strong.” As a result, Halo labeled himself a “baby gorilla,” since he was big and strong too. Then, they all watched Disney’s Tarzan, and the boy said that “gorillas are family.”
The pushback was immediate, and many flooded R. J.’s comments sections, blasting him for his alleged actions. As a result, he shared a statement on his TikTok, saying that he was a good father to Halo and that he had been working on his relationship with Isaiah.
“I would never feed or talk negatively about people in Halo’s life that I know love him very much,” the former NBA star said. He then implied that Tiffany was “committed” in misunderstanding him, and he refused to engage in a back-and-forth.
Baclash Ensues
Despite the statement, the situation sparked many heated responses and backlash online. Many users blasted R. J., believing he was responsible for the “gorilla” comment. One viewer commented, “Call your lawyer.” Another one said, “As a child of divorce, the child will ALWAYS end up resenting the parent who talks negatively about the other.”
Some other viewers believed Tiffany was sharing the story for online clout. One viewer asked, “Outside of monetary gain, why do this to your family?” Other viewers, however, quickly responded, with one saying, “You could always just keep scrolling.”
With such high-profile names involved in the family situation, it is no wonder that it all resulted in virality. No follow-up has been posted ever since, so it is unclear what ramifications such an alleged episode could have.
