'Basketball Wives' Star Slammed for 'Tone Deaf' Promotion Amid LA Fires

Draya Michele, an alum of the reality series Basketball Wives LA, is coming under fire for a poorly timed social media promotion that many are labeling “tone deaf” amid the Los Angeles-area wildfires. 

The reality star and mother of three took to Instagram late last week with a video of herself setting up a Sereniby air purifier while her son, Jru Scandrick, 8, played in the background. She also has a 22-year-old son named Kniko Howard and a baby girl whose name has not yet been released to the public.

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“While the unimaginable is happening with the fires in LA… air quality is so poor, toxic even. I’m using the @sereniby_official air purifier to ensure that my kids and pets are breathing in fresh, double filtered air,” she captioned the clip, encouraging her followers to use the link in her bio to receive $200 off the $629 price point. 

“There’s no price on peace of mind but having it is more valuable than most worldly things,” she concluded, adding the hashtags: “#prayforla #airquality #airpurifier.”

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A post shared by Draya Michele (@drayamichele)

While Michele has since limited the comments on her post, critics took to X to air their grievances, with one calling it “tone deaf af” and later adding, “It’s so embarrassing.”

“Draya said, ‘I know you seen those fires. Get you an air purifier so you don’t have to smell their burnt houses,'” someone else criticized sarcastically. 

“Very out of touch bc what 😭😭😭😭,” another reply read. 

“How about she donating a few of these to mutual aid organizations and shelters?” another suggested, instead of “trying to sell items when people have lost their homes and entire lives.”

Some did come to her defense, with one fan noting, “It’s actually smart because the air quality is cancerous,” while others pointed out that the air purifier wasn’t the problem so much as the several-hundred-dollar price tag. 

“What’s the problem. On the news they say to get humidifiers and air purifiers, and wear a mask,” another agreed. 

Next: Mandy Moore Issues Blunt Response to Critics After Sharing GoFundMe Link Amid LA Wildfires