An off-hand comment from Charles Barkley about rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter being accused of sexual assault in a recent lawsuit made Shaquille O’Neal walk off the set of Inside the NBA.
Carter on Sunday appeared in a lawsuit accusing him of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean “Diddy” Combs — who’s currently incarcerated on human trafficking charges — in 2000. According to the alleged victim, the two men assaulted her at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards as an unnamed female celebrity watched. Carter has denied the allegations and called the lawsuit an extortion attempt.
On Tuesday night’s episode of Inside the NBA, Barkley subtly referenced Carter’s situation. During a discussion about analyst Kenny Smith possibly taking on ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith in a free throw contest in the near future, Kenny tried comparing it to a star rapper battling with an amateur. For his example, he used Carter.
“You think Jay-Z or–” Smith began.
Barkley was compelled to interject.
“Probably not a good time right now,” Barkley noted.
Kenny simply shook his head and said, “You’re silly,” as O’Neal got out of his chair and walked off the set. Laughs could also be heard from behind the camera.
“You are silly, man,” Kenny continued to say with a grin. “You are silly.”
Watch above via TNT