Already embroiled in one controversy regarding a possibly insensitive comment he said to Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor referenced Rocky III as the one in the film series with “the dancing monkeys.”
McGregor made the reference during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live‘s Guillermo Rodriguez. According to USA Today‘s A.J. Perez, Rodriguez asked McGregor if he could beat Rocky Balboa from Rocky III.
“I’m trying to remember which one was Rocky III,” McGregor said. “Was that the one in the celebrity gym? I can’t remember if that’s the one with the dancing monkeys or not.”
McGregor and Mayweather are in the midst of a four-stop world tour to promote their Aug. 26 fight. During their event in Los Angeles on Tuesday, McGregor told Mayweather to “dance for me, boy,” per Yahoo Sports’ Ryan McKinnell.
Mayweather brushed the comment aside when asked about it by TMZ Sports.
“Racism still exists but you know, I try to take something negative and turn it into something positive,” he said. “A lot of people say that Conor McGregor is racist but I don’t worry about that.”
McGregor addressed the story during Thursday’s event in Brooklyn, New York, denying that he’s racist and saying he’s “half-black from the belly button down,” per MMAFighting.com.
Mayweather and McGregor will conclude their tour Friday in London at SSE Arena.
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