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Charles Barkley has jokes about Jussie Smollett, Liam Neeson

Jason Owens
·Staff writer
As usual, Charles Barkley doesn’t care if you think his jokes are in poor taste. (Getty)
As usual, Charles Barkley doesn’t care if you think his jokes are in poor taste. (Getty)

Charles Barkley loves to laugh.

Charles Barkley loves controversy.

Charles Barkley engaged in both of those loves during TNT’s halftime coverage of Thursday’s game between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Barkley takes on Jussie Smollett

During a segment about NBA predictions, Barkley decided to randomly interject on perhaps the most controversial topic in American pop culture right now.

As host Ernie Johnson went to a board in the studio with a list of NBA predictions on sticky notes, Kenny Smith asked Johnson about which prediction he believed “had no chance of happening.”

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Before Johnson could respond, Barkley chimed in with a joke about Jussie Smollett.

“Two black guys beating a black guy up,” Barkley quipped before breaking into laughter.

ICYMI regarding Smollett

In case you’re not aware of the story, Smollett is an actor on the Fox show “Empire” who said he was attacked by strangers who beat him, doused him in bleach and left a rope tied around his neck as part of a hate crime against the gay, black actor.

Chicago police have since arrested Smollett on multiple felony chargers for allegedly staging the attack and paying two brothers with a $3,500 check to carry it out.

Barkley couldn’t contain himself when talking about it.

“America,” Barkley said. “Let me just tell you something. Do not commit crimes with checks. If you’re gonna break the law, do not write a check. Get cash, man. … You think they put that on the receipt? Facemask, rope, bleach?”

Wait, there’s a Liam Neeson joke to be had

Barkley wasn’t done. The TNT commentator brought into the mix actor Liam Neeson, who recently admitted to in his past having a “primal urge to lash out” and attack random black people after a friend of his said that a black man raped her.

“You wasted all that damn time and money,” Barkley continued. “You know what you should’ve did? Just went up to Liam Neesom’s neighborhood. It would’ve solved all your damn problems.”

So yeah Chuck’s got jokes. And he doesn’t care if you don’t like them.

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