Charles Barkley is one of the most outspoken players we’ve seen come through the NBA. His nature is what makes him such a big hit on Inside The NBA. At the same time, it also helped him land a CNN show with none other than Gayle King. On this week’s episode of King Charles, we saw Gayle King and Charles Barkley settle out a debate they’ve had since the All-Star Break back in mid-February.
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Having renowned writer and cultural commentator Professor Roxanne Gay on the show, Chuck found this to be the perfect opportunity to settle a dinner disagreement. Speaking to Professor Gay, Barkley explained the situation as such,
“I took Gil to dinner last week. And I said, we were at the All-Star game. I always take people out who I like and work with. They work so hard, they get a break. And she shows up, she says, oh, you got 10 friends with you. She wasn’t paying the bill. Is that all right?”
Gayle King wasted no time in clarifying the situation. She stood to her defense and said,
“Say you land in Indiana, for instance, for the All-Star game. You text your friend and say, hey, want to get together for dinner? Said friend says, yes, six o’clock and name the place. So I make the reservations and I call him and say, great, I got us in at 6 or he said, for how many? I said, two. He goes, two? Well, I have 10 people.”
Clearly, there was a lapse in communication between the two, but neither would admit that it was their fault. Further building her case, King said,
“No one, he didn’t tell me that he had 10 people. Don’t you think that when I reached out to him, the proper thing to do would have been to say, hey, Gil, listen, I’m going out to dinner with friends. Would you like to join us?As opposed to, yeah, let’s go to dinner.”
It was a clear case of miscommunication between Gayle and Chuck, and the Professor sided with Gayle. It was Chuck’s fault for not clarifying that the dinner was not an intimate setting, but a group gathering.
Even though they bicker sometimes, there is nothing but love between Charles Barkley and Gayle King. In fact, it was their mutual admiration of one another that led to the show’s inception.
Charles Barkley revealed how a ‘secret meeting’ led to King Charles
King Charles first aired on CNN on 29th November 2023. Since then, it has become the contender for the prime time slot on CNN. In its mere 14-episode journey so far, the show has managed to captivate its audience, and the main reason behind this has to be the hosts.
Talking on The Late Night Show With Stephen Colbert in January, Charles Barkley revealed how both the hosts were initially reluctant to do the show. Gayle King was already busy with her career and did not want more time on TV, but was intrigued when CNN brought up Chuck. Similarly, Chuck wanted less time on TV, but the idea of working with Gayle King had him hooked. In fact, that led to a ‘secret meeting.’
“We set up a secret meeting. I asked Gayle do you wanna do this. She said I don’t wanna work anymore, but I’d consider it with you. I said I don’t wanna work anymore, but I’d consider it with you. And that’s how we got here.”
While it may not have been something the pair wanted initially, the show has turned out to be a major hit among fans. We’ll have to wait and see what Charles Barkley and Gayle King have in store for us next.
