Charles Barkley is no stranger to being in the hot seat, and as many suspected when it happened, the NBA legend faced a swift wave of backlash as soon as he made sexually suggestive comments about Cardi B’s breasts during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
True to form, the basketball star-turned-sports analyst, doubled down on what he said and offered no apology — and instead dared ESPN, the network that employs him, to fire him over the viral moment.
In an interview on the “Dan Patrick Show,” Barkley jokingly begged to be let go from his job —and also gave haters some pointed advice about what they could do if they don’t like what he said.
“Dan, you know I’m hoping they fire me,” the NBA All-Star said on Wednesday, June 10. “I got six or seven years left on my contract that they know I’ve got no chance of doing. I would love for them to fire and have to pay me for the next six or seven years.”
“Dan, you know I’m hoping they fire me. I got 6 or 7 years left on my contract that they know I’ve got no chance of doing. I would love for them to fire me and have to pay me for the next 6 or 7 years.”
– Charles Barkley on his “Cardi D’s” comment pic.twitter.com/0tc5GYv3s8
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 10, 2026
Barkley shared that as of now, no one from ESPN upper management has reached out to him regarding the comments — but just in case some online haters have a problem with that, he offered a solution.
“People can’t take a joke?” he began, “They can kiss my a—. I appreciate all the support I’ve gotten all these years, but if anybody thinks like them, they’re a fool. So, if people don’t like me or don’t have a sense of humor, they can kiss my a—.”
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During her hometown halftime performance at Madison Square Garden to support the New York Knicks, Cardi performed her Grammy-winning hit “Bodak Yellow” and “Bodega Baddie” from her current release “Am I The Drama?”
While the chart-topping rapper was performing, Barkley remarked: “I don’t know if those (are) B’s. They might be Cardi D’s. … I’m pretty sure those aren’t B’s. … She’s got the wrong initials.”
Although Cardi didn’t seem to mind what Barkley said and even shared the clip online, other Internet opinions were more varied.
“The man is a grown adult on national television reducing a performer to her body like it’s 1995. It’s not funny, it’s not clever, it’s just sad,” a user on X wrote.
“They were talking reckless during the whole broadcast last night though. I’m surprised they said some of that stuff,” another added.
“the producers in the production truck probably had a collective heart attack when that left his mouth,” a third shared.
However, not everyone was offended by Barkley’s comments, with some sharing they enjoyed his humor.
“Never change Charles, never change,” a user commented.
“Bro is on fire with them jokes,” another chimed in.
“That was funny as hell. It’s so nice to hear actual funny commentary,” another person wrote.
”Only Charles Barkley can roast somebody that clean during a live game and make the whole timeline lose it. Legend behavior right there,” a user summed up.
