John Mellencamp is not happy with his home state after some Hoosiers booed a few famous New York Knicks fans — including Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller, who were sitting courtside — at Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
In a strongly worded post on X Thursday (May 29), the singer-songwriter — who attended the match two days prior to support the Indiana Pacers with his girlfriend, producer Kristin Kehrberg — wrote that he was “embarrassed when somebody, under whose direction I don’t know, called out some of the people who had made the trip from New York to support their team.”
“The audience booed these people,” he continued. “I’d say that was not Hoosier Hospitality. One could only say it’s poor, poor sportsmanship. I was not proud to be a Hoosier, and I’ve lived here my entire life.”
Though Mellencamp didn’t mention Pat McAfee by name, the rocker was likely referring to the moment at Game 4 when the sports commentator rallied the crowd at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis by saying over the speakers, “We got some big wigs from the big city in the building: Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothée Chalamet is here. Let’s send these sons of b—-es back to New York!”
The Night at the Museum actor would later call the moment “weird” on X, adding, “We were happy to be there and cheer our team and other than that Indy fans were awesome.”
McAfee later explained on the platform, “They asked me to do that in the fourth quarter and I wasn’t gonna say no,” after which Stiller extended an olive branch by replying, “Come to game 5 Pat!!”
But Mellencamp isn’t letting what happened slide. “On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior,” he concluded in his note. “I’m sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown.”
Game 4 would ultimately end with the Pacers defeating the Knicks 130-121, putting the Indiana team at a 3-1 series lead. The next game will take place Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, aka the New York City hoopers’ home turf.
