If the new film Verity bombs in New York, feel free to put the blame on cast members Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson, both of whom lost credibility with Knicks fans while promoting their new release.
The Hollywood actors joined Verity co-star Anne Hathaway on ‘First We Feast,’ where the trio was asked to take part in a round of Wildcard – a question-and-answer game in which a player pulls a card with a name on it, holds it to their forehead and tries to guess that person’s identity.
But when Hathaway pulled the name of Knicks superstar OG Anunoby, the 43-year-old Brooklyn actress was met with blank stares from Hartnett and Johnson. Whereas Hartnett seemed unfamiliar with Anunoby’s name, Johnson seemed to doubt his entire existence.
‘F***,’ Johnson exclaimed. ‘That’s not real. You f***ing assholes.’
Miraculously, Hathaway was able to correctly guess Anunoby because of Hartnett’s misunderstanding of the veteran NBA forward’s first name.
‘OG,’ in the case of Anunoby, stands for ‘Ogugua’ – the given first name he received from his Nigerian parents when he was born in London in 1997.
OG Anunoby is very real, as any fan of the San Antonio Spurs can tell you after the Finals
Josh Hartnett (left) didn’t know OG Anunoby, while Dakota Johnson (center) questions his existence. Anne Hathaway (right) meanwhile, is very familiar with the Knicks star’s game
But when Hartnett uttered the words ‘original gangster’ – a term often shortened to ‘OG’ – Hathaway figured out the confusion.
‘OG Anunoby,’ she said.
Despite hearing the correction answer, the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith remained skeptical.
‘That’s a real person?’ Johnson asked.
Hathaway was all too happy to set Johnson straight by telling the audience of Anunoby’s heroics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Not only did he have a postseason career-high of 33 points, but he also made the game-winning tip-in off a Jalen Brunson miss to give New York a 3-1 series edge.
New York would win Game 5 to claim its first NBA title since 1973.
Anunoby makes the winning tip-in against the San Antonio Spurs to end Game 4 at MSG
‘Game 4 of the NBA championship, one of the greatest baskets ever scored by a player is OG Anunoby, and you just have to watch it,’ Hathaway told Johnson while shooting her co-star an incredulous look.
While Knicks fans showered Hathaway with praise, they were less kind to Johnson.
‘Dakota,’ one wrote, ‘need to get it together and brush up.’
‘Who TF doesn’t know who OG is after game 4?’ another fan asked.
One critic described the trio as ‘Anne Hathaway and two f***ing theater nerds.’
‘The fact Dakota and Josh had no clue who he was shows how much of a bubble they live in,’ read one comment from a Knicks fan. ‘That Game 4 moment transcended sports & was everywhere. Anne on the other hand is a Knicks Queen and we love her.’
The Knicks’ title defense will begin October 20 against LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and the visiting Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden.
