Key Takeaways
- Michael Porter Jr. ended a nearly hour-long religion debate with Muslim influencer Itachi on ‘Curious Mike’ by asking, “You got a boyfriend?”
- Itachi explained that she doesn’t date and follows her faith’s marriage “process,” prompting Porter to ask, “You just have to get married right away?”
- Porter credited Itachi’s knowledge of Islam with challenging him to examine his Christian beliefs, and she encouraged him to research without rushing to a conclusion.
Michael Porter Jr. spent close to an hour debating religion with Muslim influencer Itachi on his podcast Curious Mike—then ended the conversation with a flirty question.
As the episode wound down around the 55-minute mark in the video below, Itachi told the Brooklyn Nets forward that conversations like theirs matter, that she "would love to come back," and that "maybe you can push back on me one day."
Porter paused briefly and answered, "Yeah, for sure. You got a boyfriend?"
Itachi told him that in her religion, she does not date, and that her faith has a "process" when it comes to marriage. Porter Jr. sounded surprised.
"Really?” he said. “You just have to get married right away?"
The exchange closed an episode of Curious Mike, where Itachi, an American Muslim known for religious debates, defended her beliefs and pushed back on Christian teachings.
Before the boyfriend question, Porter was candid about how the debate had affected him, crediting Itachi's command of Islam with making him question his own faith.
"You obviously know your faith, which I think is inspiring as well. You knowing your faith so well and being able to defend it challenges me to be like, 'Oh, like, OK, really, why am I Christian? Why? What in the Bible can I point to for really why I believe what I believe?'" he said.
Itachi shared that she had gone through that same questioning herself. She pushed him to do his own research and not feel pressure to reach an answer right away.
Porter grew up in a Christian household and often talks about his faith, including that he likes to pray before games with his teammates.
The moment follows Porter's recent comments about his love life. In a September episode of his podcast that featured Jason Lee, he said, "Actually, I don't have a girlfriend right now, but the next girlfriend I have is going to be wifey, and I'm loyal to her."
