On July 14, 2025, rapper Azealia Banks went public with allegations against UFC legend Conor McGregor, accusing him of sending her unsolicited nude images in addition to inappropriate messages over a number of years. Banks shared several images to her social media accounts, which seem to depict explicit images and disturbing messages that were sent by McGregor via direct messages.
One image she posted was an alleged nude selfie of McGregor purportedly at a gym holding weights and captioned: "Don’t be a rat, cos all rats get caught." Banks was clearly frustrated by labeling what she stated was harassment and violation of privacy as she said, despite the two supposedly exchanging private messages since 2016, they have never met in person.
No me and Conor McGregor have been sending each other unsolicited nudes since 2016. LOL
— Azealia Banks (@azealiaslacewig) July 14, 2025
In some trademark Azealia Banks style, she wasted no time providing an unfettered, painfully honest analysis of the MMA fighter's behavior. Using sarcasm and humor, she pulled apart what she described as a long-standing history of inappropriate behavior by the fighter. Not to mention, Azealia asked how someone could send such images, and then the fighter could try to threaten her not to disclose them while calling the whole thing ‘HARAM,’ a term that suggests something that is wrong or forbidden.
Besides making fun of the MMA fighter’s alleged ambitions in Irish politics with the humour that warned the messages might make it inconvenient for someone with presidential credentials, her posts rapidly snowballed and across X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram went ‘viral,’ reaching a remarkable number of followers, with a mixture of shock, laughter, and definitely concern from many.
McGregor is Silent While Backlash Grows
Azealia Banks’ accusations garnered lots of online attention, but Conor McGregor has decided not to say anything in regards to the allegations. On the same day Banks’ screenshots were published, McGregor shared a post on social media in honor of his 37th birthday, “Happy birthday to me!” This didn’t reference the allegations but many people interpreted it as side-stepping the backlash that day.
Happy birthday to me!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 14, 2025
In the interim, his longtime partner, Dee Devlin, posted birthday pictures and emotional messages on social media, as she stood by McGregor, at a time where there was a growing media frenzy. The nature of the accusations were serious, but McGregor and his team have yet to publicly deny or acknowledge the authenticity of the screenshots.
The incident adds to the list of McGregor’s public controversies. He was found liable in a civil sexual assault case in 2024, and in 2023 there were accusations leveled against him appearing during an NBA game (although he was not ultimately charged, as was no criminal case). Again, in what continues to be a scrutinized public and partisan recent history of McGregor—both on social media and in real life—fans, media and critics are left unimpressed.
Azealia Banks could not have predicted the reaction to the alleged messages she shared. The decision has re-ignited the dialogue about celebrity online conduct, the need for consent, and where the line should be drawn. On one hand, some social media users lauded Banks on Twitter for voicing her experiences, however, there were also a great number of people, who have expressed reservations as to Banks's timing, or how or why she decided to come forward with things now. Nevertheless, the situation does point to an important question overall, when do private communications between public figures go far enough, and fall into an ethically dodgy area.
It remains to be seen whether this will yield any sort of legal ramifications, if not now, eventually. For now, the discourse remains focused on the asymmetric power dynamics of celebrity, and, how quickly private communication can be charged with potentially deadly controversy and become public. With McGregor yet to officially respond, the public will remain watchful.
Source(Image / Thumbnail): nypost.com
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