The actress took to Instagram to defend her innocuous comment, explaining, 'I’m allowed to think something is funny!'
Jennifer Esposito isn't laughing at the way some people have interpreted a comment she made on Instagram regarding Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's intense chemistry during their duet at this year's Oscars.
The NCIS actress -- who was married to 44-year-old Cooper for less than a year from 2006 to 2007 -- made headlines on Monday after comedian David Spade took to Instagram to share a snapshot of Cooper and Gaga's performance.
Spade asked in the caption, "Is there any chance these two aren't f**king?" Esposito replied in the comments with a simple, "Ha."
The 45-year-old actress shared a pointed and strongly worded video message to Instagram on Tuesday about the furor that has followed since, and took her critics and online trolls to task for making a big deal out of what she felt was a harmless laugh.
"I literally laughed at [Spade] because he was so bold in what he was saying and I thought it was funny," an incensed Esposito explained. "I'm allowed to think something is funny."
Directing her ire at haters who slammed her on social media, she continued, "We have so many things in our country and in our world that need attention, and I wish that you'd spend even a minute of this insanity of nonsense on things that are really important."
In fact, Esposito said she didn't even watch the 91st Annual Academy Awards, and didn't see the steamy musical performance at all.
"I didn't watch the Oscars, I don't know what went on, I don't care what went on," she shared. "I just commented on something that I thought was funny."
"To find that people are making judgement calls about me, or them… is really psychotic," she added.
Esposito saved her most intense vitriol for some tabloid journalists who she said willfully misrepresented critical remarks she made about an unnamed ex in her 2014 memoir, Jennifer's Way, which mainly focused on her difficult struggle with Celiac disease. To those commenters, Esposito had a very direct message: "F**k you."
"This is horrible behavior," she exclaimed. "This is why people don't speak up on so many situations."
Ultimately, the actress said she feels bad for "those people who were involved on the other side of the 'Ha,' because it wasn't at them," referring to Cooper and Gaga.
"And I feel bad for you if you took your time to comment on such insanity today," she concluded.
For more on the romantic, charismatic performance that sparked all this drama, check out the video below.
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