After Matt Barnes hinted that he was dating Rihanna during an interview with TMZ sports last weekend, Riri shut the Memphis Grizzlie forward down on social media, posting a picture of Barnes along with a slew of hashtags #shesnotthatintoyou, #shesnotintoyouatall, and #shesneverevenmetyou, as HNGN previously reported.
Despite his public shaming, Barnes stood by his story. Wednesday, he made an appearance on "The Jim Rome Show" and had something to say when asked about the Rihanna rumors.
"You live and you learn. When you're in a situation like this and, you know, you just learn. You just got to keep stuff to yourself obviously. But the way I'm putting it right now, I'm too grown to lie, you know what I mean. It is what it is, I'm going to let this blow by like everything else blows by," Barnes said.
Barnes continued: "What can you do? At the end of the day we're all grown-ups. Like I said, I'm too grown to be lying about stuff but life is life. You live and you learn... In life in general, there's no need. I'm grown. My upbringing just doesn't allow me to have that kind of stuff in it. Life, sports whatever it is I'm just about the truth. I'm always going to be me, even if you know sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble. I'm always going to be me, because I speak on things I feel passionately about. So love me or hate me I'm going to be me regardless," according to the show's website.
Barnes' former teammate Glen "Big Baby" Davis sided with Barnes on ESPN's "His & Hers," implying that the two were a tad closer than just friends. "I don't agree with Rihanna," Davis said. "Matt Barnes is an honest, stand-up guy. He really knows her. He's not lying about that. Why would you lie about that?" Rolling Stone reported.
