USC's JuJu Watkins opens up on Caitlin Clark's White privilege comments and embracing controversial new fans

EXCLUSIVE: USC women's basketball teenage phenom JuJu Watkins isn't turning away any of the new fans in her sport, not even the ones that give her "headaches."

The meteoric rise of Caitlin Clark has injected women's basketball with waves of new fans, mainstream media hype and plenty of arguments between the new fans and old ones. These arguments are often about Clark's treatment by the league, other players and the media. 

And some longtime women's hoops stars have denounced certain supporters of Clark and discouraged them from following the sport. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Former WNBA player and current Atlanta Dream executive Renee Montgomery said that many of Clark's fans "cannot be a representation of what the WNBA would want in their league" during an episode of her podcast in September. WNBA legend Sue Bird lashed out at this group in her podcast in November, claiming that some of them aren't even fans of Clark but are just "acting" as fans while "pushing racist agendas and pushing hate." 

Clark herself said that some of her followers "aren't fans" but are "trolls" in her exit interview for her rookie WNBA season after Connecticut Sun players accused some of her fans of racism during a playoff series against Clark's Indiana Fever in September. 

But the 19-year-old Watkins, who is currently on pace to break Clark's NCAA all-time career scoring record, isn't taking any of the new attention for granted as a college player.

"So many new fans being in the sport sometimes can be, not necessarily challenging, but can just kind of give you a headache a bit. Not a lot of people know what they're talking about sometimes. But it's great for the sport. The fact that people are watching is enough in itself," Watkins said, when asked by Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview about what challenges come with the sport's new attention. 

"We would like it to be positive, but it's not always going to be like that, so as long as we continue to raise the numbers and viewership goes up, I think that's all we can ask for."

Watkins said she even wants those fans to cheer for her, too. But even if they end up "hating" her, she will still embrace the fact that they're paying attention.

When asked if she wants the sport's controversial new fans to cheer for her, too, Watkins answered, "Oh yeah. I love supporters and I also love haters. 

"I think that's just a part of the game. There's so many sides to it. So it's the nature of the game and there's always going to be negative and positive aspects of it."

One of the most recent controversies surrounding Clark occurred when she was chosen as Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year. Some in the WNBA, including Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson during a CNN interview, criticized the decision to choose Clark for the award. Johnson said Clark was chosen because "It’s the way media plays out race" and it didn't do enough to recognize the other players in the league.

But Watkins thinks Time made the right call. 

"I'm all for it," Watkins said. "I honestly think she deserves it. I don't think anyone has changed the trajectory of the sport so much, so I honestly think she deserves every bit of it."

INSIDE CAITLIN CLARK AND ANGEL REESE'S IMPACT ON MEN'S BASKETBALL

Clark herself stoked backlash from some of her own supporters during the Time interview when she made the statement, "As a White person, there is privilege."

"It's super dope," Watkins said when asked about Clark's comments on White privilege. "For her to kind of bring that to light was cool."

Clark herself has acknowledged the outrage her comments sparked and, like Watkins, embraces the positive and negative attention that has come with it. 

"With the way things are going and where the WNBA is going, you want that attention, and you embrace it, and that’s what makes this so fun," Clark said of the backlash at the "A Year in TIME" event in New York on Dec. 11. 

Controversy has been a driving force behind the rise in women's basketball's popularity over the last two years. The rivalry between Clark and Angel Reese became one of the hottest in sports after their meeting in the 2023 NCAA women's basketball championship game, when Reese's LSU Tigers defeated Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes.

Reese pointed to her ring finger at the end of that game, unleashing mass controversy. 

HOW CAITLIN CLARK BATTLED THROUGH CULTURE WARS EN ROUTE TO HISTORIC 2024

Then, after Clark led her team back to the title game in her senior year in 2024, the women's championship outperformed the men's game in TV ratings for the first time in history. 

Watkins hopes and believes that the women's college game will continue to beat the men's in viewers, and she will do her part as one of the top stars in college to make that happen. 

"I think that it's definitely a trend now," Watkins said of the women's college game getting more attention from men. 

Watkins pointed to her recent history against UConn star Paige Bueckers as an example of something that can keep eyeballs on their sport with Clark and Reese now in the pros. USC's game vs. UConn on Dec. 21 averaged 2.23 million viewers, making it the second-highest-rated game ever shown on Fox Sports and the most-watched women's college basketball game so far this season.

"For that to not even be a March Madness matchup, and to see that, I can only imagine what it will be like in March," Watkins said.

As Watkins looks to keep the eyeballs on her sport and potentially chase down Clark's all-time scoring record, she has the choice to even tap into Clark herself as a resource to do this. 

Watkins said Clark has offered her phone number, and that the teenager can reach out for advice from Clark any time. 

Watkins hasn't taken Clark up on the offer yet, but is keeping the offer in her back pocket for the right time.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.