Culture

Dennis Rodman Talks About Doing Karaoke With Kim Jong-un And Bursts Into Tears In A Bizarre ‘GMA’ Interview

Dennis Rodman appeared with GMA host Michael Strahan to discuss his recent diplomatic trip (which he embarked upon at the request of President Trump) to North Korea, and the results are just as weird as you’d expect. Emotions — both of a “wtf” and serious nature — ran high, and the former NBA star talked a lot about late ex-detainee Otto Warmbier. You can find the full interview at the bottom of this post, but above, Rodman tried to defend his controversial friendship with dictator Kim Jong-un while failing to grasp why Americans distrust a country that treats him so well. He does not, of course, discuss the nation’s nuke fetish or how they’re conducting weekly missile tests while threatening neighbors and the U.S. alike:

“People don’t see … the good side about that country … I think people don’t see [Kim Jong-un] as … a friendly guy … if you actually talk to him … we sing karaoke. It’s all fun. Ride horses, everything … those people don’t hate us. It’s the politics, that’s the bad thing.”

Rodman also says that Trump would jump at the chance to “try and make peace” if all of the “politics” didn’t get in the way. In this clip, Rodman breaks down in tears because people don’t understand why he’s forged this relationship with a dictator. He insists that he doesn’t act as a diplomat (“I’m spending hundreds of dollars just to go over there”) for attention but “out of the kindness of my heart.” (It’s worth noting that Rodman’s antics in North Korea have been embarrassingly sloppy at times, including a 2014 trip where he reportedly got drunk, vomited, and pooped all over a hotel.)

In this clip, Rodman insists that his presence in North Korea was a big part of why Otto Warmbier was released. Rodman’s agent, Chris Volo, stated that he requested the U.S. student’s release three times, and he and Rodman negotiated by offering “do some type of future sports relations … they said they understood.” Rodman says he was jumping up and down with joy when Warmbier was released, although he wasn’t aware of his comatose state (Warmbier has since passed away with North Korea declaring on Friday that his death is “a mystery to us as well.”)

Watch the full Dennis Rodman GMA interview — which contains almost every emotion in this universe — below.

(Via ABC News)