Alex Rodriguez’s problematic Met Gala comments also include describing Idris Elba as ‘the black guy from The Wire’

Jennifer Lopez may regret letting her fiancee Alex Rodriguez go unsupervised into an interview with Sports Illustrated because the former baseball star ended up saying some insulting and otherwise questionable and culturally insensitive things about fellow celebrities the couple dined with at the Met Gala in May.

So far, the former New York Yankees slugger has only taken to Twitter to clarify his remarks about Kylie Jenner after the 21-year-old beauty mogul took umbrage after he claimed to Sports Illustrated that she spent the dinner, boasting about being a billionaire.

“Kylie was talking about Instagram and her lipstick, and how rich she is,” Rodriguez, 43, told Sports Illustrated. 

After Jenner fired back on Twitter, asserting, “We only spoke about ‘Game of Thrones,'” Rodriguez responded a few hours later with an apology of sorts. He wrote, “OMG that’s right @KylieJenner!! It was me talking about you and your makeup line and how much my girls love you. #GOT #respect #alllove.”

OMG that’s right @KylieJenner!! It was me talking about you and your makeup line and how much my girls love you. #GOT #respect #alllove https://t.co/WjhoBMWeq6

— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) June 26, 2019

But Jenner probably isn’t the only celebrity Rodriguez should be clarifying things with. He also described other people he and Lopez dined with in ways that could generously be called inept.

“We had a great table,” Rodriguez told Sports Illustrated. “The black guy from ‘The Wire’—Idris Elba, yeah, and his new wife.”

So Rodriguez reduced Elba — a globally recognized, award-winning actor and favorite future James Bond candidate — to being “the black guy from ‘The Wire.'” By the way, Elba’s new wife is Sabrina Dhowre.

But there’s more. Rodriguez also mentioned dining with “an Asian gentlemen from ‘Rich Asians,’ the lead.”

Could it be that Rodriguez was talking about Henry Golding? He’s the breakout star of “Crazy Rich Asians,” last summer’s hit romantic comedy.

In the category of a comment that was simply ignorant, Rodriguez said he was seated at the table next to “some famous” singer.

“I don’t know what her name is. Versace — Donatella,” he said.

Maybe Lopez has already corrected her fiancee on this point: Donatella Versace is not a singer but a famous fashion designer.

In fact, Lopez has shared a long and star-making relationship with Versace, ever since the designer dressed the singer for the 2000 Grammy Awards in a green chiffon gown with a low neckline that has become one of the most iconic red carpet looks ever.

Moreover, that evening at the Met Gala, Lopez stepped away from Rodriguez on the red carpet to pose for photos with her longtime friend.

The purpose of the Sports Illustrated cover story was to look at how Rodriguez has supposedly repaired his reputation, which was badly damaged after he became one of the most high-profile faces of MLB scandals involving players’ use of performance enhancing drugs.

Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star, was suspended for the entire 2014 season for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. He said in a 2017 interview that his use of the drugs cost him is reputation, $40 million and possibly his place in the Hall of Fame.

But five years after his disgrace, Rodriguez has transformed himself into the picture of a successful, polished entrepreneur and respected sports commentator. He also wants to be seen as a doting father of two daughters and one half of a celebrity power-couple partnership with Lopez.

The two began dating in 2017 and made their Met Gala debut that year. They announced their engagement in March on Instagram, with images showing Rodriguez on a tropical beach, getting down on one knee to present an adoring Lopez with an engagement ring, valued at $4.5 million.

“Rodriguez is everywhere,” the Sports Illustrated story said, explaining that he has become Lopez’s “squire” to the Grammys, the Met Gala and “pretty much every other celebrity mega-event there is, all of which he assiduously documents on his Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, followed by a total of more than four million people.”

In the Sports Illustrated interview, Rodriguez credited Lopez with helping him with his image makeover.

“She knows how to communicate to the masses in ways I never will,” Rodriguez said, explaining his fiancee’s brand-building prowess. “She helps me out all the time when I’m trying to land a point on something. She’s just a wordsmith.”

Maybe Lopez helped Rodriguez craft his apology to Kylie Jenner. But given his other comments about Elba, Golding and Versace, it looks like she still has her work cut out for her.