OG Anunoby’s clutch move had not even sunk in by the time Monica McNutt was the viral hot topic of the NBA Finals. The veteran sportscaster became the certified villain of Swifties nation after a hot-mic incident during Taylor Swift’s appearance in the Knicks celebrity row at Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Four months later, the Knicks insider is opening up about that surreal moment when the King of New York had to step in.

Appearing on The Pivot podcast, hosted by Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor, McNutt addressed the online storm that erupted when Taylor Swift was courtside at Madison Square Garden. Unaware that her mic was still live before the broadcast went on air, McNutt was heard questioning Swift’s allegiance to the franchise.

“Is that Taylor Swift down there?” McNutt was caught saying this on the hot mic during the Knicks’ broadcast. “She’s not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl.”

The brief audio clip immediately ignited intense online backlash from Swift’s global fan base. Reflecting on the situation with Clark on The Pivot, McNutt expressed bewilderment over how an unofficial remark leaked out while she was focused on witnessing OG Anunoby’s series-saving tip during New York’s historic 29-point comeback victory in Game 4.

“That is happening as I’m witnessing history,” McNutt told Clark. “I’m running down to the floor after the OG Anunoby tip-in. And one of the PR folks is like, ‘You know you’re going viral?’ And I literally was like, ‘Dude I don’t care, did you just see that?’ And so I think for me, occupational hazard.”

She, however, remains baffled how her off-air comment was broadcast on air, saying, “Epitome of a hot mic situation. We weren’t even up yet. I’m still mystified and would love someone to explain how that got to the masses. But, we’ll leave that there.”

Though the ESPN veteran brushed it off as a daily occurrence in her job, she doubled down on the idea that the remark was never intended as a serious insult. She clarified that she was surprised that Swift was cheering for the Knicks after attending the Eastern Conference Finals to cheer for Travis Kelce’s hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“You gotta be able to read a little colloquialism because ‘Girl, get out of here’ isn’t literally ‘Get out of here,’” McNutt continued. “But I had just seen you at a Knicks game with your man in no Knicks gear, and all the celebrity Knicks fans I am familiar with, blue and orange down, baby, it ain’t no question. So, literally it’s a throwaway comment, RC, that like, please, congratulations, you have built an empire, you have an incredible fan base, like I do not care.”

In the chaos that followed her, McNutt was grateful to the NBA Finals MVP for stepping up for her. Jalen Brunson took notice of the media noise surrounding McNutt and took action to defuse the situation after Game 5, the title-clinching game. Grabbing McNutt’s microphone live on air, Brunson directly addressed Swift’s fans.

“I just want to say something to the Swifties,” Brunson stated during the postgame celebration. “She’s a really good one. Cut her some slack. It’s all good, I promise.”

McNutt shared her gratitude for Brunson’s spontaneous gesture, telling Clark, “And so for Jalen, it was funny because we’re celebrating and he was like, ‘Mon, I got your back.’ I was like, ‘okay, dude, whatever, you won a championship.’ So in that clip, he takes that mic from me, and I’m literally like, this better be good because I’m not supposed to give my mic. But Jalen is just so thoughtful; he’s an incredible leader. I think his sense of what is happening around the people… not that he’s responsible for me, but like he is the King of New York, and I’m in the New York orbit, if you will. Tip of the cap to him for sure. But I was not expecting that. It was really cool.”

Ultimately, McNutt emphasized that online outrage has zero bearing on her professional life.

“I was able to have fun with it,” McNutt added. “And y’all notice the Internet is not real. No one said anything to my face about that… Baby I can close my phone and go on about my business. I am living literally my best professional life right now. What are y’all talking about?”

She concluded by reiterating that there was no bite to her hot mic comment.

“But I think too, again, people that have never had our jobs, you don’t know how a hot mic works, and if you don’t speak with any of the flavor that I speak with, you probably took that comment to heart and it wasn’t even that deep. And that’s on you, not me. I’m going about this championship parade.”