It was terrific to see a fit Charles Barkley back on live television, but this was not the ‘NBA on TNT’. The 60-year-old made a special appearance at the ‘Talk of the Table’, hosted by Gayle King, who managed to pull out a lot of words from the former NBA veteran’s mouth. Barkley has been an incredible observer and has used his words wisely. This was all true until he was questioned about NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers’s slander toward famous late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Barkley did not hold up!
Gayle interrupted Barkley’s talk, “Some people say that Aaron Rodgers crossed a line with Jimmy Kimmel”. The Philadelphia 76ers legend chimed in, “100 percent”. King provoked Barkley, “If Aaron Rodgers had said that about you…how would you handle that?”. Barkley, without hesitation, shared, “I’d have punched him in the face”.
Aaron Rodgers was pissed about Kimmel’s joke on his immunization which started way back during the COVID times. To mock him back, Rodgers implied that Kimmel could be on the ‘Jeffery Epstein List’, which involves the names of high-profile people who have committed disturbing crimes. This triggered a lot of people and many believe Rodgers crossed the line.
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Charles Barkley said he would've punched Aaron Rodgers in the face if the New York Jets quarterback implied he was on Jeffrey Epstein's list, like Jimmy Kimmel. pic.twitter.com/WR9MyQl91y
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 10, 2024
Charles Barkley believes the same. He shared, “That’s dangerous allegations…You can make fun of celebrities…but that’s slander”. King doubtfully asked if Barkley was metaphorically claiming that he would punch Rodgers in the face. But the NBA HOF confirmed, “Hell yeah, I’d punch him in the face”.
How did Jimmy Kimmel respond?
As always, Kimmel used humor. Both Barkley and King believe that the late-night host did a great job by receiving the slander and giving a fitting comeback. Kimmel took a full 7 minutes in the last released episode to address the issue. Kimmel shared, “Of course, my name wasn’t on it, and isn’t on it and won’t ever be on it…I don’t know Jeffrey Epstein, I’ve never met Jeffrey Epstein.”
Kimmel said about Rodgers, “The idea that his brain is just average is unfathomable to him… Aaron Rodgers is too arrogant to know how ignorant he is… I’m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence. That’s ridiculous.” Kimmel agreed that he has mocked the NFL star on the show, but he also confirmed he does not makeup lies as Rodgers did.ADVERTISEMENT
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Many believe Kimmel took it like a champ. What are your thoughts?