One of the running gags on Inside the NBA is that Charles Barkley jokes about San Antonio women because they’re a little more “curvy” than others, for lack of a better word. It’s a bit that ultimately resulted in some people complaining because he was “fat shaming” and being inappropriate, in their minds.

Barkley, who does not shy away from saying whatever he wants, revealed on a recent radio appearance that he can’t do that joke anymore:

https://twitter.com/NotScTop10plays/status/1404610081136721926?s=20

The larger conversation was about cancel culture, and having to dial back the TNT conversation.

He also said this, via a writeup by Edward Sutelan at Sporting News:

“You can’t even have fun nowadays without these jackasses trying to get you canceled and things like that,” Barkley said. “Just having fun, talking about sports. I’m trying to hang on for another couple years until I’m 60, and then they can kiss my ass. I’m only working until 60. I’ve already told them that. . . . We can’t even have fun anymore. We’ve had fun all these years, and now all of a sudden in the last year and a half, everybody’s trying to get everybody fired, and it really sucks.”

Barkley is 58, so if 60 is his retirement target, then he’s not far off.

Sometimes he’s right and sometimes he’s wrong, but at least Charles uses his platform to speak his mind and deliver opinions that have not been previously approved for the masses or sanitized by TV producers or corporate suits.