Leanna Lenee has addressed the recent controversy surrounding her behavior at fiancé Travis Hunter's Heisman Trophy ceremony in an emotional 8-minute TikTok video posted on December 16.

The explanation comes after Hunter defended her on Twitch, revealing she had been "hurting" and crying herself to sleep over the criticism.

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Lenee explained the much-discussed moment when she appeared to delay standing during Hunter's award announcement.

"When his name was called, I instantly was going to get up — if you watch the video, his mom didn't get up, so I was like, 'Oh, maybe I don't get up, I just sit here.'"

She added that she stood when she saw Hunter rise and then deliberately stepped away from camera shots to let him have his moment with Coach Sanders.

"I got out of the camera, purposefully, so they can have their moment. That's all it was. No one told me to stand up, no one had to tell me to celebrate with him. I was just sitting there crying, I wanted to take it in — I was super excited for him. But I wanted the moment to be about him and his family."

Hunter has strongly defended their five-year relationship against critics, taking to Twitch to rally against those with something to say.

"Find something else to talk about. Go talk about your girl. Go find a girl. Go find a life. Stop worrying about what I got going on. I know what I got. My girl been with me for five years. Y'all are just now starting to talk about me and just now starting to be with me."

The couple plans to marry in May 2025, though Coach Deion Sanders has reportedly advised Hunter to get a prenup.

Despite the controversy, Hunter remains supportive of Lenee, with her noting she received his permission to address the criticism publicly in her video response.