Did Angel Reese say she has 3 billion fans? Explaining viral post about Sky star and Sydney Sweeney

Jeremy Beren

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Did Angel Reese say she has 3 billion fans? Explaining viral post about Sky star and Sydney Sweeney image

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When Angel Reese speaks, people listen. The Chicago Sky's All-Star forward is always one to give her opinion and stand up for herself.

But has she gone too far this time?

Recently, another quote attributed to Reese has gone viral.

MORE: Angel Reese-Candace Parker beef, explained: How Sky star has responded to WNBA legend's podcast clip

Did Angel Reese say she has 3 billion fans?

Allegedly, Reese last month called for a boycott of American Eagle amid the apparel giant's controversial advertising campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney -- in which Sweeney shows off her "great jeans."

The viral social media post, which gained traction on Facebook and then X, was a graphic with an overlaid quote attributed to Reese, in which the two-time WNBA All-Star said American Eagle should remember that she has "three billion fans" and pull an ad campaign that was "disgusting and disrespectful to Black culture."

However, the viral quote is completely fake.

That's right, Reese has not offered a public comment on Sweeney or the American Eagle ad campaign. She has never alluded to having billions of fans, and she has not called on them to boycott the Pittsburgh-based retailer, either.

Additionally, Reese's photo in one of the viral posts with the false quote has been digitally altered to show her as having a mustache -- a clear indication as to its veracity, or lack thereof.

As the WNBA continues to gain a foothold in American culture at large, it becomes even more important to think critically about the league and how its stars are being covered -- and differentiating fact from fiction.

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Jeremy Beren

Jeremy Beren is a freelance WNBA writer with The Sporting News. A Phoenix native, he is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and he has a decade’s worth of sports journalism experience. Jeremy's work has appeared in publications such as Marca, SB Nation, Athlon Sports and Vice Sports. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.