Lou Williams Says He Was Fighting ‘Goofy’ Narrative About Strip Club Chicken Wings

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Lou Williams may have embraced his “Lemon Pepper Lou” nickname, but that wasn’t always the case.

The free-agent guard told Draymond Green he initially pushed back on the nickname and the memes surrounding his infamous strip club visit in 2020.

“It was difficult for me, because I felt like it was getting to a point where all the s–t I accomplished, how I’ve carried myself over my career, they were just trying to attach some goofy s–t to my name,” Williams said (43:40 mark). “So, I was fighting a narrative. I was fighting a narrative, because they were trying to make me out to be a goofy. Like I was out here trippin’. And I was like, ‘C’mon, that has never been my M.O. Let’s not start that.’ I’m getting to the end of my career. I’m in year 15, and y’all talkin’ like I’ve been trippin’ this whole time.”

Williams was given a 10-day quarantine by the NBA after leaving the 2020 bubble and being seen at the Magic City strip club in Atlanta. The then-Clippers guard said he was picking up chicken wings from the establishment, leading to a round of widespread mockery on social media.

The incident caused Williams to miss the team’s first two seeding games in the bubble.

However, it also became a marketing goldmine for Williams, who has since trademarked the name “Lemon Pepper Lou,” a move he said has been savvy from a financial perspective.

“Lemon Pepper is hear to stay. … That s–t is here to stay,” Williams said. “I fought it for a minute because of the way people were trying to perceive me. … That was my only thing, trying to navigate the narrative behind the decision.”