Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Spike Lee and John Tesh watch during the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

Oscar-winning director Spike Lee had to be held back from a fan who confronted him about the Israel-Palestinian conflict before Game 2 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.

The “Malcolm X” director, 69, was in the Legends Suite dining area before the Yankees faced the Red Sox in the MLB playoffs when a fan asked for a selfie and also for him to say, “F–k Palestine,” according to the New York Post. The request angered Lee, who stood up from his table and told the unidentified individual, “Why’d you come over to me?” while being restrained by staff.

The individual was then kicked out of the area, as seen in footage from the incident shared on social media. A man in a blue jacket pointed to the person off camera, who seemed to be at a nearby table, and told them: “You’ve gotta go. You’ve gotta go.”

JUST NOW: Spike Lee has to be held back from going after a fan while dining pregame at Yankee Stadium.

The fan was filming Spike eating and asked him how he felt about Palestine, according to people closer to them at the table. pic.twitter.com/Lg1vFtiRed

— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) September 30, 2026

In February, the “Do the Right Thing” director attended two NBA All-Star Weekend games in Los Angeles wearing items that expressed solidarity with Palestinians. At one game, he wore a crossbody bag with a keffiyeh pattern on the pouch and a strap that was adorned with the colors of the Palestinian flag. The following day, Lee attended another All-Star Weekend game, in which Israeli NBA All-Star Deni Avdija was playing, and wore a sweater that had a black and white keffiyeh pattern and a Palestinian flag. He paired it with the same crossbody bag featuring the Palestinian flag.

Lee later explained in an Instagram post that his two outfits were “not intended as a gesture of hostility to Jewish people … nor was it intended as a comment on the significance of Deni being an All-Star,” referring to Avdija becoming the first-ever Israeli basketball player to play in an NBA All-Star game. “The Clothes I Wore are Symbols of My Concern For The Palestinian Children and Civilians, And My Utmost Belief In Human Dignity For All Humankind,” Lee wrote on Instagram.

Lee was an executive producer on the Oscar-nominated film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which is about the real-life death of a six-year-old Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip.