Leanna Lenee, the fiancée of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, has spoken out in defense of her relationship with the football star.
In a video posted via TikTok on Monday, December 16, Lenee, 23, addressed multiple controversies stemming from the Heisman ceremony over the weekend.
“The things that I see people make up is truly crazy, because it’s not what happened,” she said. “I just think people are finding every single little thing and trying to make it something it’s not. Bird brain individuals are just accepting what they see online.”
Hours before the ceremony on Saturday, December 14, Hunter and Lenee appeared at an Adidas pop-up shop in New York City. In videos that circulated on social media, Lenee could be seen sitting on a couch while Hunter, 21, took pictures at the event.
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“People are saying that I’m like, ‘What am I supposed to do, just sit here?’” Lenee said on TikTok. “That’s not what I said, first of all. I said, ‘Baby, do you want me to sit here or do you want me to go with the family or do you want me to come with you?’ Because what y’all don’t know off of a seven-second clip is those weren’t fans, by the way.”
She continued, “He had finished meeting with the fans. I was there the entire time taking pictures, talking to them, everything. The girls that were there, they work for Adidas. So we were taking pictures for a social post. That’s who those people were. I wasn’t annoyed with no fans. At all. I’m never annoyed with fans.”
Lenee also addressed a moment from the Heisman ceremony itself, where some accused her of not standing up and showing the proper amount of enthusiasm when Hunter was announced as the winner.
“This is making me so mad because anyone who knows me knows I support Travis in every win, everything he does,” Lenee said. “Because I truly, truly love that man. He is perfect in my eyes.”
She continued, “When his name was called, if you watch the video you can see me [start to stand], but his mom didn’t get up. So I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t get up. Maybe I just sit here with her.’ So I sat there.”
Lenee corrected critics who said Colorado head coach Deion Sanders had to instruct Lenee to get up and congratulate Hunter.
“No, he didn’t,” she explained. “He told me, ‘Go get him. Go get your man.’ But he didn’t have to do that, because I was going to do that anyway. As soon as I saw Travis get up, then I thought it was appropriate to stand up.”
However, Lenee noted there was a camera “right in front” of Sanders, 57, and she was worried about ruining the moment.
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“Because of how people are online, I was like, ‘I don’t want to be in that shot,’” Lenee said.
Ultimately, Lenee said she was exhausted from dealing with all of the backlash — which Hunter also addressed during a Twitch live stream on Sunday, December 15.
“Y’all hate on me and then y’all go and hate on my girl,” Hunter said. “Bro, I feel the same thing that she feels. We’re inseparable, bro. We’re with each other. If she’s hurting, of course I’m going to be hurting. If I’m hurting, of course she’s going to be hurting.”
He added, “You ain’t never had no girl, so why y’all talking ‘bout me?” Hunter asked. “Find something else to talk about. You’re talking about my girl? Go talk about your girl. Go find a girl. Go find a life. I know what I got. I know my girl. My girl been with me for 5 years. Y’all are just now starting to talk about me.”
