Charles Barkley has never been known to bite his tongue when offering an opinion, and the Jussie Smollett case was no exception.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Thursday, during his TNT network half-time coverage of the Houston Rockets game against the LA Lakers, Barkley made his co-commentators burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter for almost two minutes after the controversial case of Smollett and his allegedly staged attack came up.
During the broadcast of “Inside the NBA,” Barkley addressed the actor, saying: “Jussie — you wasted all that damn time and money.”
READ MORE: Addicted to Outrage: What the bizarre responses to Jussie Smollett’s case say about us
The NBA Hall of Famer then proceeded to jokingly offered advice on how ways the Empire star could have made his plans harder to trace.
“You know what you should’ve did? Just went out into Liam Neeson’s neighborhood. Could’ve solved all your damn problems,” Barkley said while laughing.
Charles Barkley has some advice for America & Jussie Smollett pic.twitter.com/3JaW9FlHM9
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) February 22, 2019
The quip is a reference to yet anther controversy that took place earlier this month when Neeson admitted during an interview that he’d once considered killing a Black person after he found out a Black man had raped someone close to him.
READ MORE: Former NBA great Charles Barkley donates $250K toward Black History education in Ala., Miss.
Barkley also marveled at the reported paper trail Smollett left behind when he wrote a backdated check for $3,500 to the brothers, Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, who claim they were enlisted to helped the actor stage the alleged publicity stunt.
“America, let me just tell you something, do not commit crimes with checks,” Barkley said. “If you’re gonna break the law, do not write a check. Get cash, man.”
Other fellow NBA veteran stepped in and ultimately put an end to the roast, viewers could still hear Barkley squealing with glee as they went into a commercial break.
READ MORE: Jussie Smollett removed from this season’s final episodes of ‘Empire’
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