Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joins Hollywood Reporter as Contributing Editor

The NBA icon, cultural commentator and author will write regular columns and conduct select celebrity interviews.

The Hollywood Reporter, entertainment media’s flagship outlet, on Monday announced that NBA legend, actor, activist, cultural commentator and New York Times best-selling author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has joined the publication as contributing editor. In his role, Abdul-Jabbar will pen a regular column and conduct select celebrity interviews. Abdul-Jabbar’s first column on race and romance in La La Land will run in the Feb. 24 print issue and online at THR.com.

“With decades of experience in the media spotlight and a keen eye on the pop culture landscape, Kareem will bring a unique perspective to The Hollywood Reporter’s readers on critical issues like race, gender and the role of media in society,” said Matthew Belloni, editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter. “His voice will be an especially important one as The Hollywood Reporter continues to expand its coverage and grow its global audience.”

On his new role, Abdul-Jabbar said, “I’m excited to join The Hollywood Reporter because it allows me to continue to write about the intersection of politics and pop culture, which is where our values and beliefs are forged.”

Abdul-Jabbar has contributed a number of guest columns to THR in recent months. In November, he conducted a wide-ranging interview with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, who appeared together in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s classic 1983 play, Fences.

Abdul-Jabbar also recently penned columns focusing on the issues of the day, calling on black celebrities to be “fearless” in standing up to President Donald Trump, intoning on the social and psychological effects of reality-romance series The Bachelor and comparing Trump’s refugee ban to a “bad horror movie.”

An inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Abdul-Jabbar had one of the most brilliant careers in sports history, racking up six MVP awards, six championship titles and scoring the most regular-season career points in NBA history as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Off the court, Abdul-Jabbar is a New York Times best-selling author who has written over a dozen books, including a children’s book, What Color Is My World, a history of African-American inventors; Writings on the Wall, which takes a heartfelt but critical look at inequality in America; and Brothers in Arms, which tells the story of the first all-black armored unit to see action in World War II and who liberated the Jews from three different concentration camps.

In November, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.

Abdul-Jabbar has also appeared in dozens of movies, including the comedy classics Airplane and Fletch, as well as such TV series as 21 Jump Street, Diff’rent Strokes, the Stephen King miniseries The Stand, Everybody Loves Raymond and many more. Abdul-Jabbar also appeared in Bruce Lee’s unfinished martial arts masterpiece, Game of Death, in one of the genre’s most memorable and classic fight scenes.

In addition to The Hollywood Reporter, Abdul-Jabbar has contributed to such publications as the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time magazine, Esquire and The Huffington Post.