Charles Barkley Says "F***" Nielsen Ratings

By Andrew Sanford | TV | December 8, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | December 8, 2023 |

Athletes should be allowed to speak their minds. I greatly respect people who get to a point of celebrity where their voices can be heard and then they use their voices to discuss issues. It’s a double-edged sword. Sometimes, you find yourself with many athletes claiming the Earth is flat. Still, it’s their right to voice those opinions and everyone else’s right to decide if they want to pay attention. That was the case with Charles Barkley’s new show, King Charles.

Barkley stars in the political talk show with Gayle King. If that sounds like an unexpected pairing, you are not alone. Last night, I was doom-scrolling through Twitter and found an image I assumed was AI-generated. It was Barkley sitting with King, talking to Antony Blinken about Gaza.

I’ve seen Charles chop it up after an NBA game. I’ve also seen him forcefully condemn hatred and bigotry. I like Charles Barkley. There’s something to be admired about him making a pivot like this. It just so happened to surprise me. I wasn’t the only one, as the ratings for the program are currently in the basement. That doesn’t worry Barkley, though.

“F*** them,” he said in response to the Nielsen ratings being sub 500,000. He was speaking on his podcast The Steam Room, with co-host Ernie Johnson. He’s calm and collected (despite the expletive). It feels like an incredibly apt pep talk from a sports legend.