Thierry Henry has revealed that he spent last week deleting fake quotes that caused him to be slandered on social media.
Thierry Henry went off script (Image: CBS Sports)
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has issued a powerful message after receiving abusive messages on social media. Everything he didn’t say. Henry, 48, shocked his CBS Sports colleagues at the start of the Champions League broadcast on Tuesday night.
Host Kate Scott asked the Frenchman how he felt as preparations for Arsenal’s semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid began. Henry looked down at the table and said, “Well, this week has been better than last week.
“That’s something I have to deal with, so I’ll tell you why,” then fellow critic Mika Richards jokingly asked, “I’ll tell you why.” “Are you addressing the nation?”
“Yes,” Henry answered. “Because last week I had to spend the entire week posting things on social media that I didn’t say.
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“I don’t mind being abused on social media for something that I probably said, but for something that you didn’t say, that some media outlet re-shot without actually verifying what I said on this show – and if you want to fact-check what I said on this show, it’s easy, you can go to our Instagram and see what I actually said.
“Unlike some people, I’m not going to put my hand in here (cover my mouth) and try to hide what I said. You can see my face and I have a microphone. Again, you can go to our site. So obviously it’s lazy journalism to criticize someone writing something on Twitter about something I said on this show, and it’s not the first time.”
“But it’s not okay for people to get badmouth on social media for not checking what’s going on. So I just wanted to get it out. Look it up. We’re in 2026. If you want to know anything, no matter who says it, just go to our Instagram and check it out.”
“This isn’t the first time. It’s not just happened to me. It happened to Jamie (Carragher), it happened to Micah. Check it out, it’s easy, thank you.”
The committee praised Henry’s speech, with Mr Carragher quipping: “Will people in general ever stop being so abusive to me?” Richards replied, “Then why don’t you stop saying stupid things?”
It’s unclear what exactly Henry was referring to, but the made-up comment is likely related to his analysis of last weekend’s Champions League match. Fake quotes, often generated by AI and attributed to prominent commentators, are common on social media.
Henry, who is currently active on Instagram, quit social media in 2021 due to “harmful” content such as racism and bullying. “Starting tomorrow, I will step away from social media until those in power can regulate the platforms with the same vigor and ferocity with which they are currently violating copyrights,” the former Barcelona star said.
“The enormous amount of racism, bullying, and resulting mental torture inflicted on individuals is too harmful to ignore. There needs to be some accountability.”
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