'You Really Can’t Say That': Charles Barkley Threatens to Punch Black Trump Supporters in The Face, CNN Cohost Gayle King Tries to Calm Down Conversation
NBA legend and TV personality Charles Barkley has slammed CNN after the network reportedly pulled the plug on King Charles, his low-rated talk show with Gayle King, after just six months.
March 5 2024, Published 9:35 a.m. ET
Charles Barkley shocked viewers when he said he would punch Donald Trump supporters in the face during a segment on his CNN show King Charles — and his cohost Gayle King was left to clean up his mess.
On the latest episode of Barkley and King's show, which aired on Saturday, the topic of Black people voting for Trump came up and infuriated Barkley.
The reaction came after King played a clip of Trump boasting about Black people wearing shirts that had his mugshot on the front.
King asked Barkley, “When you heard that, what did you think?”
He said, “First of all, I’m just going to say this, if I see a Black person walking around with Trump mugshot I’m gonna punch him in the face.”
Barkley didn't hold back his feelings.
“Charles. Charles, you really can’t say that ’cause, A. you don’t mean that,” King replied quickly.
Barkley said, “Oh, I mean that sincerely.”
“And then you will be arrested for assault, and then what?” King asked.
“I’m gonna bail myself out and go celebrate,” Barkley replied.
Barkley didn't back down.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
The backlash against Barkley came quickly online.
The audience reacted which led King to tell them, “Don’t encourage him.” Barkley said if he was at the event where Trump made the comments about Black people, he would have quickly left the event.
“That was an insult to all Black people,” he said. “To compare Black history, where we’ve been discriminated against, to his plight– Well, first of all, he’s a billionaire, and they are prosecuting him for stuff he did wrong.”
King said, “It’s still in the court system, Charles; we have to wait.”
“Well, some of the stuff is true,” Barkley replied. “They did storm the Capitol. They did say that the election was stolen.”
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
The reactions were mixed online. One fan wrote, "I LIKE CHARLES BARKLEY - BUT - A WHITE PERSON COULD NEVER GET AWAY WITH SAYING THAT!!"
Another said, "Charles Barkley, says he will punch any black person in the face wearing Trump’s mug shot. Challenge accepted."
One user argued, "If a Republican went on TV and said this about black Biden voters, their career would be destroyed in 24 hours."
Barkley has yet to respond to the backlash.
