Wednesday morning turned chaotic as Lakers’ Governor Jeanie Buss’s true feelings about the franchise’s superstar came out. Despite her openly stating that she wanted LeBron James to retire in Purple and Gold, an internal report revealed the opposite. A swift response came out to put those rumors to rest, but now even her Instagram activity is under scrutiny.

ESPN’s Baxter Holmes raised concerns about James’ relationship with former Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. “And team sources told ESPN she even began to turn against the Lakers’ star player, LeBron James.” Buss denied those rumors, prompting fans and netizens to search social media for more proof. A Lakers fan on X, ‘LakersSpin’, put that theory to the test and asked a question related to Buss’s Instagram profile picture.

Yes, the picture is of her hugging LeBron James after the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to claim their 17th championship. And some fans were quick to assume this was a move to smooth relations.

But those assumptions are not valid, as that profile picture was not set recently. It’s been the same for some time now, which suggests that Buss’ reported issue with LeBron might not be real after all. And that’s why she had to respond.

Jeanie Buss issued this statement to The Athletic: “It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” Jeanie Buss said. “To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.” While the 64-year-old called it unfair, ESPN’s report recounted various events that conveyed a sense of discontent.

The problems Holmes stated were not about an isolated incident. It alleged that Buss had a problem with James’s “outsized ego” and felt Klutch Sports, an agency that managed LeBron James and then-Lakers star Anthony Davis, exerted too much control. In fact, the report stated how Buss was ready to trade LeBron to the Clippers.

Then, the recent alleged issue was that she felt LeBron was not grateful to the Lakers for drafting Bronny.

Since that report came out, some fans have joined hands and flooded social media with one simple demand: remove Jeanie Buss from the Lakers picture.

Fans mock Jeanie Buss’s attempt to smooth the relationship with LeBron James

As the Lakers’ Governor, the ESPN report damaged the franchise’s credibility. But after agreeing to sell the team to Mark Walter for $10 billion, Buss will remain for at least five years. Despite wielding power, the fans were unhappy about her true feelings toward LeBron, as a netizen wrote, “She is such a two face.”

ESPN’s Holmes also added that the off-season contract negotiation with LeBron James was done to avoid a ‘bad PR hit.’ Using those sentiments, a LeBron fan wrote about Jeanie Buss’ reply, “PR sir, pr.” Another issue was that she didn’t like how LeBron was considered a savior who took no accountability for the Westbrook trade.

Because the front office worked out a move to add Brodie to appease James, the Lakers missed the playoffs, and in two years, Westbrook was shipped away.

Buss actively denied any of those claims, but the fans were not convinced. “Lmaoo, this shit is all fake for engagement.” In contrast, another commented, “Fine PR statement, @JeanieBuss & a weak attempt at damage control. You’re just saying that it’s unfair to him because of the deserved backlash for how you truly feel towards LeBron James.”

However, fans also remember that there was no celebration when LeBron opted into his $52.6 million player option to return to the Lakers for his 23rd NBA season. The Lakers did not post about the decision on their social media channels or issue a public statement.

That’s why fans questioned Buss’s true intentions. “So she hated the ego, the power, the praise… but loved the banners and revenue?”