Charles Barkley’s comments about LGBTQ community go viral: ‘If you’re gay or transgender, I love you’ – AL.com
Charles Barkley has once again found himself at the center of attention, this time in support of the LGBTQ community.
During a recent appearance onstage at an event in Nevada at Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel, Barkley told a gathered crowd that he loved gay and transgender people and what to tell them if anybody gave them a problem.
“I want to say this. If you’re gay or transgender, I love you. And if anyone gives you any s—, tell ‘em Charles says f— you,” Barkley said, which earned him cheers and applause.
The video, first posted by TikTok user l._banana, quickly went viral on various social media platforms, including Reddit and Twitter.
A repost of the video on Twitter by Ned Balme, a reporter for 7News Brisbane, received over 15,000 retweets and over 130,000 likes.
Barkley made the remarks at the hotel while he was in town for the 2022 American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.
Barkley has been outspoken in his support for the LGBTQ community on several occasions.
In 2016, he spoke out about North Carolina’s controversial Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which requires people, specifically transgender people, to use public restrooms, according to the biological sex on their birth certificate.
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“As a Black person, I’m against any form of discrimination — against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however you want to phrase it,” Barkley said at the time. “It’s my job, with the position of power that I’m in and being able to be on television — I’m supposed to stand up for the people who can’t stand up for themselves.”
A year prior, he also spoke out about a “religious freedom” bill in Indiana which some argued permitted discrimination against gays and lesbians, during the NCAA championship tournament.
“As long as anti-gay legislation exists in any state, I strongly believe big events such as the Final Four and Super Bowl should not be held in those states’ cities,” he said, per NBC News.
Check out the clip here.