Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson were fielding questions from callers on the Steam Room podcast when one fan asked what’s the worst thing a person can put on their bio on a dating app. The question was all the Hall of Famer needed to go off on a wild rant about people on dating apps.
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Barkley started by complaining about people putting old or edited pictures on themselves to deceive others. He said:
“None of these people look like they’re supposed to look. You can’t show a picture of when you were hot in high school or college.”
Barkley claimed people should post photos that are no older than three months. He was irked by people being deceptive about their looks and demanded people stop divulging “boring” details about themselves. When Johnson asked what constitutes “boring,” the retired basketball star explained:
“‘I like movies.’ ‘I like to shop.'”
Barkley argued that basic facts like these are true for almost everyone, and if people don’t enjoy those activities, they can discuss them when they talk. When Johnson enquired about people posting pictures with the dogs, Barkley responded:
“Nobody saw a hot chick and say, ‘Hey, what about the dog?’ Nobody ever said, ‘Look at that ugly girl with that cute dog in the picture. Let me click [on] her [profile].'”
Barkley’s hilarious comment made Johnson snicker.
Barkley is always truthful when it comes to critiquing looks. Over the years, Barkley has made numerous remarks about the “big ol’ women” of San Antonio and once even fat-shamed San Antonio’s women by praising the food. In 2014, San Antonio native and Spurs superstar Tim Duncan‘s girlfriend Vanessa Macias attended a home game with a small battalion of women wearing t-shirts that read “Barkley Don’t Know” to refute his claim about the women in the city being overweight. Barkley dismissed the attempt, saying:
“That woman ain’t from here. They flew her in from Dallas.”
Barkley’s shtick of trolling San Antonio women ended in 2021 when an article critiquing his jokes prompted higher-ups at Turner Network Television to demand the Hall of Famer stop making those jokes.
During the 2023 NBA playoffs, Shaquille O’Neal tried to get a comment out of Barkley about the San Antonio women but was stopped short by Johnson.
When Charles Barkley beefed with Candace Parker
Charles Barkley has no filter when it comes to speaking his mind. He proved it during his short-lived beef with WNBA legend Candace Parker. On the Dan Patrick Show in 2019, the podcast host asked Parker if she could beat Barkley in a one-on-one basketball match. She dismissed the validity of the question and said:
“Is that even a question? Come on. I’m 32 years old and still playing basketball. He is… I don’t know how old Charles is. He’s sitting and commentating full-time.”
A few days later, Barkley was on the show and was asked to respond to Parker. He said:
“Let me get sexist on your show. Cuz I don’t want no woman beatin’ at my door. You are gonna make me say this Dan. A woman can’t beat me in a sport. Just stop it. Any sport.”
When Patrick refuted Barkley’s response and claimed Candace was younger and could beat him one-on-one, he responded:
“She is not that young. Candace Parker cannot beat me at basketball. First of all, we are gonna play half court…Okay, she can’t beat me, Dan. Dan, I can’t believe you insulted me, man.”
The back-and-forth was tongue-in-cheek, and neither basketball icon seriously considered playing one-on-one to prove their point. However, this was another example of Barkley being unapologetically blunt in speaking his mind. He never backs down from an argument and always stands his ground, regardless of how controversial his opinion is or how much trouble he could get into.
Barkley was one of the most feared trash-talkers during his playing day, and he hasn’t changed in retirement.
