Most Torontonians cringe (just a little) when someone hits Toronto with a hard second “T,” and Raptors star Scottie Barnes just proved it.
In a now-viral moment from NBA All-Star Media Day, Barnes paused an interview after a reporter pronounced the city’s name in a way that sounded very, well, not-from-here, hitting it with the second T.
Barnes jumped in with a friendly correction.
“Torono, Torono,” he repeated, hinting that you have to let the second “T” fade out. The reporter playfully brushed it off with a quick “yeah, yeah,” and moved on, which only fuelled the online comments.
The clip has been making its rounds online, with Toronto fans celebrating Barnes for doing what many residents do instinctively: either quietly correct the pronunciation, or decide whether it’s worth stepping in to begin with (and Barnes, apparently, decided it was).
On YouTube, one commenter summed up the vibe perfectly: “The Toronto Mans letting the International media know what’s up hahaha,” while another went full proud-parent mode: “I love Scottie Barnes as a person, as a great basketball player, and as a Raptor… Scottie did a great job trying to correct the interviewer on how to pronounce Toronto as ‘Torono’… he knows that the last ‘t’ is silent. I love it!”
Over on Instagram, the comments were a bit more playful: “Turrronno loves you @ya.boy.scottie,” one user wrote. Another joked, “They didn’t even realize this in the movie ‘The Man from Toronto’.”
Things got a bit more animated on Reddit. In one thread, a few people even stood up for the reporter. “It’s people from the suburbs who want to reaffirm themselves. I was born here and I sometimes pronounce the second T…” one user said, drawing a ton of backlash.
Another user responded, “I’m no fan of our carbrained suburbanites, but pronouncing the second T is absolutely an instant tell that you’re not from here. Torontonian born and raised. It’s definitely not a suburban thing. It’s GTA wide.”
