To be clear, Don Cheadle didn’t release a Grammy-nominated rap album, and Freddie Gibbs wasn’t in Iron Man 3.
Apparently, people kept confusing Cheadle, 58, for Gibbs, 41, and vice versa, so the twosome clarified the situation on Sunday, November 19, when they both attended the same Los Angeles Lakers game. Gibbs posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a fan mentioning that the broadcast showed him at the game.
“That was big bro. That wasn’t me,” the “1985” rapper captioned the video, which showed him alongside the Hotel Rwanda actor. In the clip, the pair reassured fans that despite their similarities, they are “not the same human.”
“It’s not me,” Gibbs continued. Cheadle, meanwhile, insisted, “We’re two different people. He’s him and I’m me.”
Gibbs then claimed Cheadle “was in his seat [and] I was in my seat.” At that point, Cheadle asked, “Everybody understand?” hoping this mistaken identity issue would be settled. The pair ended the video by breaking into laughter before exchanging a hug.
That was big bro that wasn’t me. https://t.co/EauD9GQomf pic.twitter.com/Iy25cLZIIK
— Big 🐰 (@FreddieGibbs) November 20, 2023
The whole “Cheadle or Gibbs” issue began a year ago. In February, Gibbs shared a story of meeting Cheadle during Super Bowl weekend. “N–a walked up to me last night and said, ‘People say we look alike’ alike, and it was Don Cheadle. The f–king GOAT.” Cheadle responded, “Great meeting you, nephew.”
In November 2022, one social media user tweeted “Happy Birthday @FreddieGibbs” but included a photo of Cheadle instead. Gibbs took it in stride, reposting the photo while writing, “Happy birthday to The Don, my mentor.” Cheadle, who has since deactivated his X account, responded, “We gonna get it on one of these days, fam.”
Gibbs then posted a GIF from Robin Hood: Men in Tights, along with the caption “I challenge you,” seemingly because he thought Cheadle was hinting at a fight. Cheadle then walked back his initial tweet by saying Gibbs “misunderheard my tweet, daddy-o!” Gibbs acknowledged “my bad,” to which Cheadle replied, “Ya goofy bastard.”
Gibbs spent most of 2023 on the road. The prior year, he released Sol Sold Separately, the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated Alfredo album. Cheadle’s 2023, meanwhile, saw him appear in Agent Elvis and the Secret Invasion series. The actor will next appear in Prince of Darkness, a series based on the life of James Hamilton, a pre–Civil War Wall Street broker once known as “the only black millionaire in New York.”
