Ted Lasso angers real-life soccer fans with a digitally altered Roy Kent Chelsea banner. In Ted Lasso season 3, episode 1, Brett Goldstein’s famously gruff soccer legend and Richmond coach Roy Kent broke up with his girlfriend Keeley, much to the chagrin of his adorable niece Phoebe. In episode 2, Roy hilariously had to deal with his teammates finding out about the breakup, while also handling the emotions that came with returning to Chelsea’s stadium for the first time since he left the team. Fueling Roy’s emotions further was a banner at his former home stadium reading “They Don’t Make Them Like Roy Anymore.”
Fans of the real-life Chelsea football team ended up having feelings of their own about that Roy Kent banner, which it turns out is a digital alteration of a real Stamford Bridge sign that hangs in tribute to real Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins (via The Athletic). A wave of backlash against Ted Lasso season 3 and its altered Chelsea banner immediately ensued, prompting Chelsea’s co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly to offer up an apology. The late Wilkins’ son then thanked Boehly and Chelsea fans for their response, saying "From our perspective, the only thing that matters, is the actual banner, in the stadium where dad gave so much for the club."
Ted Lasso Inspires A Lot Of Backlash, Despite Its Positive Vibes
For a show that is all about positive vibes, Ted Lasso inspires a lot of backlash. Some of that backlash is directly related to those positive vibes, which can occasionally read as false optimism or even insincerity. After a hugely successful first season, Ted Lasso season 2 saw the biggest wave of negative response, as social media was infamously taken over by “Ted Lasso discourse.”
That social media discourse largely revolved around Ted Lasso season 2’s storytelling, which saw external conflict being replaced by character introspection, turned the lovable Nate into a divisive villain and largely sidelined soccer action in favor of off-field storytelling. Much of the backlash against Ted Lasso has of course also been the natural result of the show’s success, as critics have lined up to take the Emmy-winning series down a peg.
The latest Ted Lasso controversy has a little more meat to it though, as the show did take liberties with reality in a way that directly and understandably offended real fans of real Chelsea legend Wilkins. Overall, Ted Lasso has done a good job navigating the pitfalls that come with making fiction inspired by real people, and has largely not offended the real people being loosely depicted. But even the deftly-written Ted Lasso occasionally takes a false step.
Source: The Athletic, Twitter (Various)