Charles Barkley apologizes to Beyoncé’s mom for Galveston slander: ‘I don’t want that smoke.’

NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley has had a lot to say about various cities over the years. But his latest negative comment, suggesting that the New Orleans Pelicans should vacation in Galveston, Texas rather than Cancun once they’re eliminated (they’re down 3-0 against the Oklahoma City Thunder), drew some critical feedback. And some of that came from music superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s mother, Tina Knowles. And Barkley addressed that on air Sunday:

Chuck: “I don’t want that smoke. I don’t want the Beyhive and Jay after me.”

Chuck apologizes to Beyonce’s mom for talking about Galveston 😂 pic.twitter.com/yJicorY0dG

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 28, 2024

Here’s that post from Knowles on Barkley:

Barkley’s comments on Galveston included “We’re gonna send them to Galveston, where that dirty a** water wash up on the shore, and people think they at the beach.” So yes, that’s some significant slander. And Tina Knowles was born in Galveston and grew up there, so it’s understandable why she took some offense to that.

But it’s extremely funny to see Barkley immediately backtracking from this. That’s a bit different from some of the other city controversies he’s wound up in in the past, including years mocking San Antonio women. This time around, some of the critical feedback appears to have had an impact on Barkley. And that just reinforces the power the “Beyhive” does have.

[NBA on TNT on Twitter/X]