NBA legend Charles Barkley has slammed anti-LGBTQ+ critics of Bud Light during an epic speech.
Since April, conservative individuals have boycotted the popular beer after trans TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney partnered with the company.
The partnership, which consisted of one Instagram video, featured the beloved social media star promoting Bud Light’s March Madness contest whilst celebrating her first year living as a woman.
Shortly after the video was uploaded, Mulvaney and Bud Light were inundated with hateful comments and even death threats from far-right consumers and Republican figures like Kid Rock and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In response to the anti-trans backlash, LGBTQ+ activists and allies have voiced their support of Mulvaney and the community as a whole – including NBA star and sports commentator Charles Barkley.
While attending the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship Tournament, the former Phoenix Suns player called on attendees to drink Bud Light before calling out bigots for their anti-LGBTQ+ hate.
“I want y’all to drink this f***ing beer. I got three cases of Bud Light. And I want to say this: if you’re gay, bless you. If you’re transgender, bless you. And, if you have a problem with that, f*** you,” he wrote.
In response to Barkley’s viral LGBTQ+ inclusive speech, fans took to Twitter to praise the NBA Hall of Famer.
Charles Barkley: “If you’re gay, bless you if you’re trans, bless you. If you have a problem with that – F*CK YOU!” pic.twitter.com/eQID66Q2eS
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) July 14, 2023
One fan wrote: “He is amazing and has a huge platform in an industry that is far from welcoming to LGBTQIAP+ people. Grateful that he’s speaking out so strongly.”
Another person tweeted: “Ok, Charles Barkley is my favorite NBA player of all time.”
Barkley’s recent statement isn’t the first time he’s showcased his LGBTQ+ allyship.
During last year’s Celebrity Golf Championship Tournament, the ESPN host echoed similar sentiments, stating: “If you are gay or transgender, I love you. And if anybody gives you sh*t, you tell em Charles says ‘f**k you!”
Barkley also publically slammed North Carolina lawmakers in 2016 after they passed a law banning transgender people from using the bathroom that aligned with their gender identity.
“As a Black person, I’m against any form of discrimination –– against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however, you want to phrase it, 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,” he explained to CNN at the time.
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