LeBron James has responded to what many perceived as racist comments from Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

After the NBA star had said Donald Trump doesn’t “give a fuck about the people” in an interview on his Uninterrupted social media channel Ingraham said athletes should stay out of politics and “shut up and dribble”. She then took James to task for his “ungrammatical” and “unintelligible” language.

NFL player Chris Long who, like James, has been a vocal critic of the US president pointed out on Twitter that Fox News has a long history of inviting celebrities, including Kid Rock, Chuck Norris and Jon Voight, on to its shows to comment on politics. The Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant, who appeared on the Uninterrupted show alongside James, called Ingraham’s comments “racist” in an interview with USA Today.

On Friday night, James posted a sign from the Uninterrupted’s offices that reads “I am more than an athlete” along with the hashtag #wewillnotshutupanddribble. James, who is currently at the NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, was then asked about the comments on Saturday. He said he welcomed Ingraham’s thoughts. “I get to sit up here and talk about social injustice, equality and why a woman on a certain network decided to tell me to shut up and dribble,” James said. “So, thank you, whatever her name is — I don’t even know her name.”

'The best thing she did was help me create more awareness' — LeBron on Fox News' Laura Ingraham's comments https://t.co/hp5ATRyXUH pic.twitter.com/DrRUxu38Is — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 17, 2018

Ingraham put out her own statement, denying her remarks had racist undertones. “In 2003, I wrote a New York Times bestseller called Shut Up & Sing, in which I criticized celebrities like the Dixie Chicks & Barbra Streisand who were trashing then-President George W Bush. I have used a variation of that title for more than 15 years to respond to performers who sound off on politics ... If pro athletes and entertainers want to freelance as political pundits, then they should not be surprised when they’re called out for insulting politicians. There was no racial intent in my remarks - false, defamatory charges of racism are a transparent attempt to immunize entertainment and sports elites from scrutiny and criticism.”

During the Uninterrupted interview James was asked if wealth had insulated him from racism. He cited his own experience last year, when his house in LA was daubed with racist graffiti. “I’m a black man with a bunch of money. And having a crib in Brentwood and having the word nigger spray painted over my gate – that lets you know that I ain’t too far removed and I still got a lot more work to do.

“No matter how far, money, or access, or how you become in life as an African American man, female, they will always try to figure out a way to let you know that you still beneath them. It’s either one of two things at that point. You either cave into that notion, or you just chalk it up and say: ‘You know what? I’m going to paint over this goddamn gate and I’m gonna make it taller.’”