"Biggest clowns in the world”: Charles Barkley goes off on a rant against CNN’s newest show ratings

Charles Barkley's new TV show debuted on CNN last week, but it didn't have the success the network was expecting. The show, named "King Charles", attracted half a million viewers, a number that could lead CNN to have second thoughts on whether it could become a success.

Barkley, who co-hosts the show with Gayle King, didn't mince words and called out the ratings and the Nielsen company, which measures viewership.

"This is to my people at CNN, my team who puts the King Charles show together. An article came out that our ratings weren’t great. … but I want to tell my team, man, these Nielsen people are the biggest clowns in the world. Name me one person you know with a Nielsen box?" Barkley told Ernie Johnson on their podcast, The Steam Room, via Awful Announcing.

"These Nielsen people try to say our ratings weren’t great, but we won a certain demographic. Hey man, to my team, f*** them. Don’t you worry about what people tell you about your ratings? Nobody knows what people are watching. They don’t! You got a group of people who get to dictate who gets hired and fired, and that’s the part that sucks about the Nielsen ratings," Barkley added.

It remains to be seen if Charles Barkley's new show will improve its ratings in the coming episodes and attract more viewers.

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Charles Barkley calls out Zion Williamson for not being the 'best player' on Pelicans roster

Charles Barkley didn't hold back when he talked about Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans following their 133-89 blowout loss to the LA Lakers in the semifinal of the NBA In-Season tournament.

Williamson had just 13 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes on the floor. Charles Barkley said that Williamson should work harder to become the best player on the New Orleans team.

"The thing that disturbs me is he's not a young kid. When Moses (Malone) told me I was fat and lazy, I was a rookie. He's been in the league long enough — he's got two guys on the team that are better players than him, and they shouldn't be," Barkley said on NBA on TNT, via Basketball Network.

"He was the No. 1 pick in the draft. He should be a better player than (Brandon) Ingram; we like Ingram. Obviously, we love C.J. (McCollum). He should be the best player, and he's not close."

Zion Williamson is averaging 22.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 4.8 apg in 19 games, with the Pelicans slumpting to 12-11 on the season after the Lakers loss.