A-Rod’s Joke About Why He’s Single Is Totally Not A Cry For Help

Humor as a coping mechanism may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but A-Rod seems to be a fan. Since his breakup with Jennifer Lopez in April, the former MLB pro has been, well, doing his best — and sometimes his best involves a cringey quip about his current relationship status. Alex Rodriguez’s joke about why he’s still single is definitely something to laugh about, even if it’s from second-hand embarrassment.

On Oct. 8, Rodriguez appeared as an anchor on FOX Sports, and his co-anchors decided that some teasing was in order. During the show, they played a clip of the Tampa Bay Rays eating popcorn in the middle of their game. Then, Kevin Burkhardt remarked, “It’s not the first time that people have eaten popcorn in the middle of the game.” They then cut to a clip of A-Rod and his ex Cameron Diaz at a game together, feeding each other popcorn. (The duo dated from 2010 to 2011, per Page Six.) Cue A-Rod’s confusing joke: “KB, that’s maybe why I’m single.”

Something tells me that becoming an SNL writer is not in A-Rod’s future. Despite the joke’s confusing nature, Rodriguez and his co-anchors could not stop laughing. So I have to wonder: Is there some mysterious J.Lo vs. A-Rod popcorn feud that I’ve never heard about? Did J.Lo dump A-Rod because she found this mid-game popcorn habit so offensive? Or is everyone just laughing out of sheer awkwardness?

Considering Twitter’s reaction to the joke (and the noticeable lack of popcorn conspiracy theories), I’m going to have to go with the last option. One fan replied to the video, “A-Rod what the f*ck are you talking about bro.” Another tweeted, “what.” (Simple, but effective.)

Others took a slightly more empathetic approach to the video, suggesting that A-Rod seemed very caught off guard by the clip and was just trying to recover. One Twitter user said, “You could see the pain in his expression and hear it from his voice.”

They say laughter is the best medicine, so it seems like A-Rod is on the right track.