Embarking on the path to becoming tech-savvy, Charles Barkley set up his personal Instagram account a while back. Much to his delight, the 61-year-old has already garnered nearly 400k followers on the platform, which has also invited some mean DMs to flood in as a by-product. Chuck recently responded to them in his typical fashion, prompting some laughs and giggles in the post-game TNT broadcast of the Conference Finals.
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During a segment after Game 3 between the Mavericks and the Timberwolves, the Inside the NBA crew compelled Barkley to read through a few of the mean DMs he has received. One of those messages was from Michael, who hilariously stated, “You look like the mascot from Milk Duds.” This comment seemed to amuse Chuck as he failed to control his laughter upon reading it.
Another such instance occurred when Barkley read out Viktor’s DM, which bordered on the show’s running joke about the 1993 MVP being overweight. It read, “Barkley claims to be on a diet but we all know the only thing he’s cutting is the line at Krispy Kreme.”
Even though he let these statements slide, it wasn’t the case for all of the DMs. For instance, a follower named Chris indirectly called Barkley slow-witted, writing, “Announcing NBA Playoffs does not require a lot of brain power.” Chuck responded immediately with a playground insult, “Hey Chris, yo mama!”
Amidst this negativity, Barkley also received appreciation from his followers. One of his female fans, named KJ, texted him, “I’m not sure if anybody told you’re handsome.” This recognition certainly flattered Chuck and even made him blush, as he responded, “This a good one…Thank you, KJ.”
The array of reactions to his presence on Instagram showcases the varying opinions NBA fans have about him. However, one factor remains common in all of them. Each of those fans found Barkley an approachable celebrity, adding volume to his public image.
But why did Barkley create his Instagram account?
Charles Barkley had a specific reason to create his Instagram handle
Despite despising social media for years, Barkley finally surrendered fairly recently. The 11x All-Star revealed the primary reason behind creating this account to be “for business purposes”.
This led to the TNT panel collectively pulling Barkley’s leg and trolling him in the name of teaching him the ways of social media. Even though Chuck didn’t entirely grasp the concepts in one go, he has started to slowly understand the gist of the matter.
Barkley exploring the realms of modern technology with his naive stances is surely an entertaining thing to behold.
