Charles Barkley promised to be his same old unfiltered self in his new talk show host persona. The premiere of King Charles on CNN was rife with no-holds-barred Chuck. It came with a serving of football aficionado Sir Charles on the side. The NBA legend has a few favorite NFL pros. And he’s feeling protective about one of them being embroiled in a whirlwind romance rumor with the biggest popstar of this era.

Taylor Swift’s rumored beau has made Barkley lose thousands. Yet he’s got Chuck’s undying support as an athlete who’s romanced an iconic singer himself.

Charles Barkley wants Taylor Swift to be kind to his fave

Taylor Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce is the hottest gossip in the NFL world right now. While the pro league is milking it, Charles Barkley is decidedly anxious. He’s usually betting on the Kansas City Chiefs. So he wants to protect Kelce from turning into T-Swift’s muse.

“That’s not a threat, that’s a promise,” he said in a rant directed at the new billionaire songstress during the King Charles premiere on CNN. He doesn’t want her to turn him into a song if their rumored relationship goes downhill.

Any Swiftie knows if you break Taylor’s heart, you get immortalized into a chart-topping hit. Barkley dreads his favorite footballer getting an indirect feature in Swift’s album. “If she writes a bad song about Travis, I’m gonna move some furniture around,” he claimed.

He made it very clear, though, that he’s a big fan of Swift himself. Saying, “Travis is a great dude,” Barkley has his fingers crossed that this fairytale-like romance is true.

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In the past, Kelce’s team has left Barkley very frustrated. He bet $100,000 on the Philadelphia Eagles only for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are currently experiencing the Swift effect, where they win a game if she’s around. If she’s going to lead the team to a championship, Barkley could make that $100,000 back.

Chuck is a romantic

As Gayle King pointed out, Barkley knows a thing or two about ‘high-profile romance‘ too. Without dropping names, she successfully got him quiet about his own alleged romance with a singer.

Back in his heyday, Barkley was romantically linked to several famous women, including a certain legend named Madonna. Chuck has been married to Maureen Blumhardt since 1989 and their marriage weathered the affair rumors that followed Barkley throughout his career.

Those rumors were never confirmed. But Chuck wants Taylor and Travis to become real. A very good reason to invite his favorite singer and favorite footballer to King Charles. 

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