The actress, who shares son Kiyan with the famed New York Knicks player, talks about the matter when she serves as a speaker on a panel at Fanatics Fest in New York City.
- Aug 20, 2024
AceShowbiz - La La Anthony opens up about her decision not to change her last name despite her divorce from ex Carmelo Anthony. La La talked about the matter when she served as a speaker on a panel at Fanatics Fest in New York City on Saturday, August 17.
During her panel, La La allegedly "gushed" about the basketball career of her and Melo's 17-year-old son, Kiyan. The actress revealed that Kiyan's success was "part of the reason" she's kept her last name as "Anthony."
"The moment of being able to buy Kiyan's NBA jersey will be crazy," the panel's moderator, Taylor Rooks, reportedly told La La. "That's why I haven't changed my last name yet. I'm gonna keep it around for a little while!"
La La married Carmelo in 2010 after seven years of dating, before the couple separated in 2017. The pair later briefly reconciled a year later, only for the actress to later file for divorce in June 2021.
Despite their split, La La and the famed New York Knicks player remain amicable. The 42-year-old Brooklyn native insisted that her allegiance is with her son, who is currently the No.1 ranked high school player in New York.
At one point during the panel, Anthony was asked "how hard" it will be to root "against" the Knicks if his son is drafted elsewhere. She said, "Not that hard!" She added, "I'm sorry I'm going where my kid goes! Wherever my kid is at, that's who I'm rooting for."
The "Total Request Live" host went on saying, "It's different when it's your kid. It's just a whole different ball game. It feels like a brand new journey that I'm going on with him."
Of his son, La La further talked about Kiyan taking a similar path to his famous father. "He has seen it his whole life so he is used to it but he is also an extremely humble kid," she said.
"So it's amazing how grounded he has been able to be through it all because I couldn't imagine growing up with parents that were in the spotlight or like … people wearing [Carmelo's] jersey and people going crazy everywhere he goes," she added. "But he's so calm and so humble and just wants to do the work and be such a student of the game."