If the New York Knicks win the NBA Finals, they’ll have one person to thank. That’d be Danhausen.
The WWE wrestler, whose shtick involves laying theatrical curses on his rivals, seems to have actual supernatural powers over the team’s fortunes. On April 17, he went on ESPN and hexed the Knicks during a TV beef with host (and Knicks superfan) Stephen A. Smith. Within a week, they started losing games — to the Atlanta Hawks, no less.
But 11 days later, on April 28, Danhausen reversed the curse after a Knicks fan on Cameo offered to pay him (Cameo lists a cost of $200-plus for his services). The team instantly started winning again. They haven’t lost a game since, sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, building the most dominant scoring differential 10-game streak in NBA history.
Turns out Danhausen isn’t the only celebrity throwing down jinxes. Back in 2011, Lil B hexed Kevin Durant after the basketball star dissed the Bay Area rapper’s music on Twitter. Sure enough, Durant’s game stumbled for the next five years — until he signed with Lil B’s hometown team, the Golden State Warriors, and all was forgiven. “Welcome home KD,” Lil B posted, “the curse is lifted.” Durant went on to win back-to-back championships.
Then there was the time in 2018 when rapper and self-described witch Azealia Banks — who once posted a video of the blood-caked closet where she sacrificed chickens — got into an online spat with Lana Del Rey. Banks threatened to burn down Del Rey’s house with voodoo. That curse, though, didn’t take; the following year, Del Rey released her best reviewed album ever and her house is still standing.
And let’s not forget the Kardashian Curse — or Kurse — which while entirely unintentional may be the most potent of all: Any athlete who gets romantically involved with a K girl can kiss their career goodbye. Just ask Lamar Odom. Or James Harden. Or Blake Griffin.
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Also in Rambling Reporter:
Meet Hollywood’s other Jeffrey Epsteins; Director Graydon Carter found himself getting photographed aboard a boat in the Mediterranean — he’s still trying to figure out exactly why.
This story appeared in the June 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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