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What did Jaden Ivey say? ‘Anti-LGBTQ’ comments explained as row sparks Chicago Bulls exit
Jaden Ivey waived by Bulls after his Instagram Live rants criticized LGBTQ issues, Pride Month, abortion and Catholicism, calling them “unrighteous.”
In a major update for the Chicago Bulls on Monday, it was reported that star guard Jaden Ivey has been waived by the franchise in the aftermath of a series of controversial comments Ivey made on social media.
ESPN's NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that the Bulls have decided to let Jaden Ivey go. The Bulls have not officially confirmed the decision and neither has Ivey reacted to it. However, per reports, Ivey is all set to become a free agent this summer and will not feature anymore for the Bulls.
Charania wrote on X that the decision on Jaden Ivey was taken "after his recent anti-LGBTQ comments amid several rants on religion and other topics." The waiver comes less than a week after he was sidelined over left knee pain stemming from his previous injuries, including a 2025 broken fibula.
This has brought a renewed interest in what the 24-year-old guard said. In this article, we will look into that.
What Did Jaden Ivey Say?
Jaden Ivey made a series of controversial comments about the LGBTQ community, the Catholics, abortion, and a host of other topics in what is being called a rant on multiple Instagram Lives on Monday, March 30. In them, he criticized Pride Month, LGBTQ issues, abortion rights, and other topics as "unrighteous."
“The world proclaims LGBTQ, right? They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA does too. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month, to celebrate unrighteousness,’” he said in one of the videos.
In the same video, he went on to question lesbian pregnancies, saying that it "can't happen." "They have the same body parts," he said.
In another video, he targeted Catholicism, calling it a "fake religion." He suggested that the Detroit Pistons would be "irreverent" on Judgement Day.
Jaden Ivey's Recent 'Changed Player' Comment
Jaden Ivey's playing time at the Bulls fell consistently till he was sidelined earlier over the knee injury for the rest of the season. Amid the tough times in Chicago, Ivey recently said on a live stream that he is now a "changed player" and not what he used to be.
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“I’m not the same player I used to be. That’s why. I’m not the J.I. I used to be," he told ESPN in a dressing room interview. "The old J.I. is dead. I’m alive in Christ no matter what the basketball setting is.”
The comments came shortly before the series of Instagram lives that caused his waiver.
Jaden Ivey averaged 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 18.1 minutes over 37 games for the Bulls in the 2025–26 season.
