The award-winning actress Nia Long has once again reminded people that she does not hold back when it comes to speaking her truth. She posted a sharp message on Instagram that seemed aimed at men who thrive on attention from women outside their relationships, Complex reports.
“Too much attention from a side chick makes a midlife crisis man think he's a king. Easy tiger, it's just a paper hat from the kids' table,” Long wrote, complete with a laughing emoji. The timing of the post made fans connect the dots, and many assumed it was directed at her ex-fiancé, Ime Udoka.
Nia Long's message on ‘side chicks' and ‘midlife crisis' men. Read more: https://t.co/NyskshCEX0 pic.twitter.com/j7LZO66AVL
— Complex (@Complex) August 26, 2025
Revisiting the breakup
Back in 2022, Udoka, then coaching the Boston Celtics, was suspended for a relationship with a team staffer. The scandal spilled into the public eye, forcing Long to deal with heartbreak in a very visible way. She later shared that the most painful part came from seeing the impact it had on her young son, Kez.
Nia “I been fine all my life” Long 🙌🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/JsQac6SOMK
— melanin on 𝕏 parody account (@melaninpalace) February 26, 2025
Long and Udoka had been together for 13 years, building what many thought would be a lifelong partnership. They got engaged in 2015, but the relationship ended shortly after the scandal broke. Long made it clear at the time that she felt unsupported by the Celtics organization during the fallout.
The court of public opinion
If there was ever an example of someone being universally embraced while their partner was universally criticized, this was it. The Black Twitter community rallied around Long almost instantly. Former NFL player Kerryon Johnson summed it up bluntly, saying, “Cheating on Nia Long is absolutely ludicrous.” Van Lathan Jr. called her approval rating with Black America flawless, and countless others declared Udoka’s choices an unforgivable mistake.
Now, with her new post, Long has reignited the conversation. Whether or not the words were meant specifically for Udoka, the cultural memory of that scandal remains fresh. Some fans even speculated that the message could be about a different man, but most agreed the target felt obvious.
At 54, Nia Long’s confidence and candor show why her voice resonates so strongly. Even in coded messages, her words strike with precision, forcing both her critics and her supporters to pay attention.
