Charles Barkley has revealed why he turned down an invitation to Taylor Swift’s star-studded wedding.
Swift and Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce tied the knot in New York on Friday, in a colossal ceremony at Madison Square Garden featuring a star-studded guest list that included Adam Sandler, who officiated the wedding, Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, Brad Pitt, and hundreds more.
Overall, there were an estimated 1,000 people on the guest list.
And former professional basketball player Barkley was one of those names.
But on the Unfiltered with Ricky Bo & Bill Colarulo podcast on Tuesday, July 7, the NBA icon confirmed he received an invitation but “politely declined” the offer.
He then revealed the unusual reason why he declined an invite to what has been widely dubbed “the American wedding of the century.”
“I don’t go to weddings,” the Hall of Famer said. “I don’t go to weddings or funerals, but I did get an invite, and I politely declined ‘cause I thought it was gonna be a c--p show.”
He continued, “I love Travis and Jason, and I’ve only met Taylor one time. But, yeah, I did get an invite, but I said, ‘Hey, you know what, that’s just too much. I just want to hang out and play golf, but I don’t want to dress up and all that other stuff.’ But I appreciate the invitation, it was pretty special.”
Barkley was not the only high-profile guest absent from the celebration, with Ryan Seacrest also missing the star-studded event after a scheduling conflict forced him to cancel his plans, as he explained on the July 6 episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
Barkley played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets during his career. Despite never winning an NBA championship, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in basketball history.
He is also a member of the United States men’s national basketball team that won gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
After retiring in 2000, Barkley became a popular television personality, best known for his outspoken commentary as an analyst on Inside the NBA.
