The Conversation (0)
Breanna Robinson
Apr 19, 2021
Former President Barack Obama not only left a profound legacy from his administration, he also has the gift of humor - and he just loves to roast his friends.
Obama good-naturedly unleashed his snappiest lines during a recent virtual chat with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.
On ATTN’s “Roll Up Your Sleeves” special on NBC, Obama was there to discuss ways to educate the public about some of the misconceptions surrounding coronavirus vaccinations.
But before he could get to that, he proceeded to crack some jokes about Barkley and O’Neal—and it was hilarious.
Obama poked fun at Barkley for his gambling habit and also asked, “ is there anything Shaq isn’t selling right now?” about the legend endorsing many businesses worldwide.
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Obama also congratulated Barkley on his daughter’s recent wedding, bringing up how Barkley wanted to slim down for the special day—while relaying another joke.
“You also felt like you need to get in shape because The Hora (a traditional Jewish dance) ... when you’re lifting the chair, nobody could do that at your current weight!”
We know this may seem unkind, but it was all in good fun, and Barkley laughed along.
“I survived the Hora! No one got hurt. It was the best day of my life!”
On the topic of vaccinations and people of colour, Obama said: "A lot of the underlying conditions, things like diabetes, folks who have preexisting conditions ... there is more of that in communities of color than there is generally, which means we’re more vulnerable."
He also touched on the Tuskegee experiments performed on Black people and how this has trickled down into distrust for the government.
“The irony is when you know about the Tuskegee experiment, what’s going on there is the government withheld treatment that was available for Black men for Syphilis. They didn’t give them the medicine they needed.”
Obama also alluded to the idea that if wealthy people are willing to get the vaccine, then it must be safe to get.
He also talked about young people’s opinions on the virus.
“Even if I get Covid, it’s like a bad cold.’ But part of what we’re seeing now is there is a different strain of the virus that’s come over. That’s not the dominant variant, and it’s actually hitting young people harder than the original version."