Charles Barkley
Michael Che
[Starts with SNL monologue intro] [Cut to SNL stage] [Band is playing music]Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, Charles Barkley.
[Charles Barkley walks in and to the stage] [cheers and applause]Charles Barkley: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I’m an athlete and athletes’ been speaking a lot this year. They’ve been kneeling during the anthem, refusing to go to the White House, but a lot of professional athletes are worried about speaking out might hurt their career. Well, there’s something that contradicts all of that. Me! I’ve been saying whatever the hell I want for 30 years and I’m doing great. [cheers and applause] I’m hosting SNL for the 4th time for no reason other than Lorne Michaels just wanted somebody to talk to about Black Panther. But this country has had a great tradition of athletes speaking their minds. Muhammad Ali changed the way people thought about Vietnam. Jim Brown had people thinking about race. Michael Jordan even thought it was okay for humans to play with Looney Tunes.
Well, some folks still think we’re all spoiled millionaires. But athletes work hard. I’m successful because I have a great work ethic. I’m responsible. And when I was born, I was three feet tall and weighed 26 pounds. But some people don’t want to hear from professional athletes. Like, there’s a lady on FOX News who told LeBron James to shut up and dribble. And dribbling is like, LeBron’s only four things he’s good at. Shooting, passing and magically making his hairline come back.
But the media does this stuff all the time. I went to president Obama’s 50th birthday party. They got video of me and Jay-Z, Steve Harvey in Grand Hill at the party. And FOX News called it ‘a hiphop barbecue’. First of all, we were the only four black people there. And three of us ain’t even in hiphop. So calling it a hiphop barbecue is like any tournament Tiger plays in, deaf golf jam.
Look, I gotta mess with people complaining about athletes. We can do a lot more than dribble. I’m a broadcaster. I wrote a book. I even got my own wine. That’s true. It’s called CB Vineyards. It’s the only chardonnay that pairs great with a sausage biscuit. Yeah. You know what? But at the end of the day, athletes are the only ones speaking out in their communities.
[Michael Che walks in]Michael Che: Ay! Wow! Wow! Charles! What about comedians? [cheers and applause] We speak all the time.
Charles Barkley: Well, look at you, Michael. Nobody takes you seriously.
Michael Che: Well, tell that to the people who called me racist just for telling jokes.
Charles Barkley: I’m sorry to hear that.
Michael Che: Well, they did make a good point.
Charles Barkley: People should be able to disagree. For example, I’m proud to stand for the anthem. Unless Fergie’s singing it, and I just fall over laughing. Coz it’s hilarious.
Michael Che: And I stay seated for the anthem because I’m still in my Uber. Because black people are always late.
Charles Barkley: That’s not true.
Michael Che: I told you I’m a racist.
Charles Barkley: Hey! I might agree with that. But you can say you still have you career. And all your athletes out there, you can too. So, LeBron, keep on dribbling and don’t ever shut up. And maybe one day, you can host SNL for the 4th time just like me.
[cheers and applause]Michael Che: That was beautiful, man!
Charles Barkley: Shut up! Hey, so buckle up! It’s gonna be a real hiphop barbecue in here tonight. We got a great show. Migos is here. So stick around. We’ll be right back.