People are mixing up LaVar Ball and LeVar Burton.

LaVar Ball/Instagram

Trump supporters are confusing actor LeVar Burton with LaVar Ball

People are oblivious to the difference between the men.

 

Danielle Ransom

Internet Culture

Posted on Nov 21, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 10:24 am CDT

In an unfortunate mixup, people are flooding actor LeVar Burton’s Twitter mentions because they think he’s LaVar Ball.

Oblivious to the difference between the two men, President Donald Trump supporters began attacking Burton—the actor best known for hosting the PBS show Reading Rainbow—with Ball, the basketball dad who has an ongoing beef with Trump.

The confusion seems to stem from Ball and Burton having similar first names, plus last names that begin with the letter “B,” and the fact they are both Black. While Ball caused controversy with a CNN interview on Monday night, Burton has been unwillingly dragged into the Twitter fire and sent rude messages.

Some tweets have since been deleted, but they live on in screenshots.

https://twitter.com/Steven_L_Epps/status/932424476398161920

At least one person tried to clarify the misunderstanding.

The drama started when Trump called Ball “ungrateful” because the controversial basketball dad didn’t thank Trump for getting his son, LiAngelo Ball, out of going to jail in China. The UCLA guard and two other teammates were caught shoplifting sunglasses from luxury stores.

On Monday, Ball went on CNN and still refused to thank Trump.

“Why is that on your mind?” Ball said. “All this stuff that’s going on and that’s on your mind—that a father didn’t say thank you?”

Ball said that he would handle his son and that Trump should stay in his lane. The internet has conflicting takes on the whole ordeal.

As for Burton, he might want to avoid Twitter for a while. Or take his Star Trek: The Next Generation cast member’s advice.

H/T Uproxx

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*First Published: Nov 21, 2017, 8:13 pm CST