Ayesha Curry answered online critics on Thursday, 5 November, after a kissing scene from her new film spread across social media on the day it began streaming. “It’s not even real you guys are annoying,” she wrote on X, hours after Second Chance Holiday premiered on the Roku Channel. The film is her first leading role in a feature film.
The clip shows Ayesha Curry kissing co-star Matthew Daddario in a Christmas decorated setting. Ayesha Curry plays Chelsey Banks, a dating expert who has been dumped every holiday season and heads home, where she reunites with her high school sweetheart, played by Daddario. The kiss comes from that reunion, which is the premise of the film. A clip shared by the account @BBallGround reached nearly 100,000 views within an hour, according to Basketball Network, and the New York Post reported the scene after it went viral on Thursday.
Why Ayesha Curry faced criticism over the scene
The criticism began before the film came out. When Roku released the trailer on 27 October, some users questioned why Curry would play a romantic storyline while married to Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. Some of the replies after the clip spread framed the role as disrespectful to her husband, and one X user wrote that she wanted attention from other men so badly she became an actress so she can kiss them without cheating. Other replies asked why she would be on screen kissing other men after a decade of marriage.
Ayesha Curry’s reply pointed out that the scene was acting. “It’s not even real,” she wrote, with a laughing emoji. The film is a work of fiction, and the kiss is part of a scripted reunion between two characters. Her post did not stop the replies, but it made clear that she saw the reaction as over the top.
Other viewers pushed back against the critics. Some said the backlash was ridiculous because romantic scenes are a routine part of acting, and that the argument over the clip missed the point of the film. The split in the replies left Curry, an actress, entrepreneur and television personality, at the centre of a debate about her marriage that had little to do with the film itself.
Ayesha Curry and the support from Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry backed the project in public before it came out. On the day the trailer dropped, he posted, “My Leading Lady. I get to see the work behind the scenes and now the world gets to see you shine and this is just the beginning…” After the clip went viral, he commented on her Instagram post promoting the film, writing that the character was good with him and that he loved her and was proud of her. He also reposted her post to his own Instagram Story with the song “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. There is no report that Stephen Curry objected to the scene.
Ayesha Curry has faced this kind of scrutiny before. Remarks she made about receiving less male attention than her husband during a 2019 appearance on Red Table Talk drew widespread reactions, and the latest scene has brought some of that attention back. She has also appeared in shows such as Hannah Montana and Ballers, but Second Chance Holiday is her biggest screen role so far.
Ayesha Curry in her first leading film role
Second Chance Holiday is a Roku Original holiday romantic comedy directed by Maxwell McGuire. Dennis Andres and Arlene Duncan also appear in the film. Ayesha Curry said in a statement carried by ESPN that it was an honor to be part of Second Chance Holiday alongside such a talented cast and crew. The film is available free on the Roku Channel.
The story follows Chelsey Banks, whose search for love takes an unexpected turn when she reconnects with her high school sweetheart. The film premiered on Thursday, 5 November, the same day the clip began circulating. Ayesha Curry promoted the release on Instagram on the day it came out, writing, “Today’s the day! Stream Second Chance Holiday on the Roku Channel. So grateful!!!”