thank you so much for joining us from tel aviv. a new kind of conversation with gayle king and charles barkley is starting right now. "king charles", and its premier begins right now. >> hey, gayle. >> hello, mr. charles barkley. you know what i was thinking? yes, it's mr. charles barkley. she said i'm gorgeous. >> you are is there a politician you trust? >> in office today. >> i guess not. >> i do trust our current president joe biden. >> you do? >> yes, i do. >> are you concerned about his age? >> no, i am not. >> do you think covering beyonce or taylor swift full-time would be a dream job? >> no, because respectfully i'm not a fan of either. >> whoa! >> security! >> from the cnn studios in new york city, it's king charles. >> we're not going to waste your time. >> no. >> with gayle king. >> i'm beyonce, but you can call me gayle. >> and charles barkley. tonight, steve kerr, hip-hop artist fat joe, cnn's lauwura co coates and from the ringer -- >> king charles starts now. welcome, welcome. >> i like how that started. >> so excited. great work by the crew. >> thank you, crew. thank you so much for joining us tonight. this is "king charles", our brand new show right here on cnn. just seeing the two of us should tell you that this is going to be something a little different. wouldn't you agree? >> that's an understatement. but it's going to be fun. >> how so? how is it an understatement? >> because we're going to have fun. we're going to give opinions. we're not going to be opinionated. we're going to give opinions. that's a difference. >> i'm already a little worried. i went to the dentist today. a woman came up to me and said, gayle, i'm excited about your king george show with charles barkley. >> i want to make sure people think i'm not calling myself king charles. it's gayle king and charles barkley. >> we're going to talk about some of the biggest stories in the world, but you should know we're not a show of record. we're a show of what we find interesting. some will be serious, some will be silly. >> that's me. >> some will be both, because frankly, that's sort of life, don't you think? >> should be fun, but sometimes we got to be serious. >> we know how to do that. hopefully the place welcome back a place for people who care what's going on in the world, but also a place for people who need a bit of a break, and i'm thinking we all need a break these days. >> we definitely need a break from life. >> the world is nuts. the show isn't a one-way street. we want to hear from you. please leave us a voicemail. ask us anything. we have our own number. >> 1-855-3434-king. >> tell people what that number means. >> i don't know what the 855 is, but 3434 is my number from phoenix and philadelphia, and my special friend king. >> look how cute you look. how old were you in that sixers uniform? >> probably 26, 27. >> you lost the mustache when? >> when i realized it was ugh will i. >> how old were you in the second picture? >> 32. that was called the good old days. >> we like it. tonight, head coach of the golden state warriors, steve kerr. i bet you know him. >> great person. >> tells house huh losing his father to an act of terrorist in the '80s shaped his world view. plus, a georgia trial with huge implications that does not involve the former president. and the people who say they have the two best jobs in media are h here. beyonce and taylor swift's new national correspondents are making their debut. first, charles, we got to talk about this. roll tape. >> there's people with all sorts of shiesty backgrounds, and all of a sudden george santos is the mary magdalene of united states congress. >>ly not be resigning. are we to assume one is no longer innocent until proven guilty and they are in the guilty until proven innocent, or are we now to assume simply because somebody doesn't like you, they get to though you out of your job? >> not worry about santos. they're worried about what they're playing for eggs. >> we've not whipped the vote and we wouldn't. i trust that people will make that decision thoughtfully and in good faith. i personally have real reservations about doing this. >> okay. trips to atlantic city, casinos and hamptons, shopping at hermes, botox and purchases on only fans. charles, you want to share about your only fans account. >> i don't have one of those. >> okay, just checking. according to the ethics report, that's a day in the life of george santos. we brought in van lathan and host of laura coates live. there's a third attempt to expel the congressman. you kick it off, charles, what are you thinking? >> this story makes me sick to my stomach. shouldn't take three attempts. gayle, there's no job in the world where you could lie that much and keep your job. that's not a normal person watching this show who would go to a job and just tell complete lies and then they found out about it and they would keep their job. i don't understand why it would take three times. i mean, it shows you how broke our political system is because you can lie that much and keep your job. >> yeah, but people say you're innocent until proven guilty. he's been proven guilty. >> he has the ethics report. i admit, the receipts -- the botox. i can't afford hair maze so i mispronounce it every single time. you also have the only fans. everything about it. he is defianting and he is saying -- he's daring everyone, put up or shut up, because you might down the line have some allegation against you and they'll expel you. that's what he's holding on to is this slippery slope. >> makes me think, guys, there's no shame. >> that's where we are in america. i love him. just to be honest with you. >> you love george santos in. >> yeah, so i didn't like him, and then i found out he spent 40,000 on only fans, and i'm like, that's me. that's like my guy. look, you guys -- >> van, van. >> america is coming to grips with who we are. we think we're barack obama, the super polishes educated guy who never says anything wrong, but right now america is george santos. we're the only fans freak going to the casinos and doing all this stuff. i think he's the perfect mascot for political dysfunction. i want him around as long as he can. >> do you think political scandal is normalized? is this where we are in america? >> it's always normalized but never sensationalized. you always had gerhardt -- >> that wasn't considered normal back then. >> this is more normalized. i think we lost our way, and i think we need a mascot. >> if george santos and lying like he is is american, i must not be. i need to check my passport. it's not normal. >> yes. >> there's a couple things. i do think you're right, the reason other politicians don't condemn him, they don't want us looking into what they're doing with their money on the side. that's what i truly believe. because there's no way -- all that stuff, the fans and all that spending money, they don't want us looking in their bank accounts where their money goes. my biggest problem goes back to, you can't get elected lying like that. that's my problem with the whole thing. you should not -- you should get -- everybody else would get fired from their job. we're not talk about the stuff you're talking about. he lie about where he went to college. >> he didn't have any -- he didn't go there. >> he didn't go there. he lied about where he worked. >> he didn't work there. >> that stuff has been proven. >> can i be real with you, though? >> yeah. >> once again, i'm not making excuses for george santos, i think that's normal. if you look at people, they lie on their resumes. >> that disrespect, that's to get a job at a fast food restaurant. >> i may have lie about my weight on hi draiver's license, but everybody does that. >> you think most people lie on their resume? >> i don't think so. they might embellish, talk about all the things they've done in a 40-hour week. he said he was jewish and said he was jew-ish. he said his mother was at 9/11. did not happen. he said his money. it was not his money. it was campaign related money. it was donors who had the money that they spent now on his forehead in botox. >> i think people embellish sometimes, but i don't think the extent of his lies -- that's what i think. and i think the fact that he has doubled down and says, i'm not going anywhere -- that's what i don't get. >> let me be serious for a sec. i think the campaign finance irregularities are serious issues. i think there's a part of this that's the quirkiness of george santos that makes him an easy political target in a climate where there is so much rampant lying, misinformation, and misleading of the american people that he's being scapegoated in a way. >> in fairness though, van, most people lie after they get the job. they don't lie to get the job. he lied to get the job, and he continued to lie. most politicians, they don't start lying and become crooks until after they get the job. that's my problem with this whole fiasco. >> i think you're on to something, though, charles, when you say people aren't really -- some of his fellow colleagues aren't criticizing them, because they don't want them to look at what they're doing. >> 100%. >> because santos is implying if he goes down, he's not going down alone. he said this the other day. >> he is very clear about that threat, and i bet of course there are skeletons in the closet of many members of congress. i'm sure we could find that. part of the reason people criticized the immediate i can't recollect because the fact that we're finding out this stuff through the ethics report after the election, at a time when normally you had local newspapers who were flourishing at a different time, and everybody wasn't turning towards television for all their news all the time, you had vetting. you the opposition research from the other candidate that would have found this out. his own campaign found a lot of stuff, but they still allowed him to get there. they're now suffering because it's probably going to flip back once he's not in office. >> the vote to expel is going to take place this week. let's go around. would you vote to expel, laura? >> yes. >> yes. >> if they're not going to do anything -- >> i would definitely vote to expel. we're going to talk about a trial with wide ranging implications for american culture. that, as we said earlier doesn't involve the president. should a rapper's lyrics be used as evidence? we'll see. you're watching "king charles". we welcome you back. welcome to people back, charles. our debut show "king charles". >> welcome to "king charles." >> we're so glad to be here. we're going to play something people think is music or art and keep an eye on the lyrics on the bottom of the screen, because prosecutors are calling them evidence. ♪ now, those lyrics from "just how it is", a song by grammy nominated artist young thug were quoted in the indictment for racketeering and gang conspiracy charges the rapper's currently facing, and the judge says this -- that prosecutors are allowed to use these and many more in trial. that has a lot of people talking. back with us to break it all down bar for bar. laura coates stayed with us. she's a badass. cnn's chief legal consultant. and grammy nominated hip-hop artist and entrepreneur fat joe is here. we want to start with you. you have been behind the push to stop this kind of prosecution. what's your reaction when you see he's on trial accused -- that his lyrics can now be used against him in this trial? >> that's horrible. it's a travesty. i have been rapping for over 35 years. i lied in over 90% of my songs. >> lie like how? >> i write how i feel that day. i'm just being creative. you couldn't build a jail high enough for the lyrics i've said in songs, which are all untrue. what i am is a family man, a guy that gives back to my community all the time, open businesses in my community. so the music would never amount to the actual person joseph cartagena. what's even more horrible is that the district attorneys know those lyrics ain't real. they know that's creativity, but if it helps their case, they'll use it to put these guys in jail. and here we're having a fun show about it and discussion, but there really is six defendants in atlanta who might spend the rest of their life in jail for something that's totally not true. >> yeah, you're saying this is not a laughing matter, this is very serious. >> very serious. this destroys families. i would say those guys got at least 100 people that are employed by them that they pay their bills. no thanksgiving for them, no thanksgiving for the hundred employees. and this case right here is set in such a precedence in america. they used this before in up and coming aspiring artists. never took a guy out of the arena, number one artist my girls look up to and say, you're going on trial for this. this is nasty work. >> let me play devil's advocate, aka prosecutor. you know the phrase, everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. we know from law and order. but they are being charged with this rico violation, the conspiracy that says you have a criminal enterprise, a gang, and what you're rapping about is not a lie. it's evidence. we want to use it that way. embellishment happens all the time. he's saying i'm saying these things because it sells. you don't have to prove you ordered them to do it. you have to have thisse enterpre was around and they carried things out. maybe you're trying to deter people to incentivize other people. >> let me play devil's advocate with you. if that was your client, would you think using these lyrics was right? >> i would do what they're doing -- say he is just an artist. i can no longer charge him i can't charge picasso because he didn't depict a face. >> what about freedom of speech. >> you're free to say what you're saying but you're not going to be not liable. if i hire a hitman, i can be prosecuted for a person to do it. >> don't they have to hire the hitman? >> that's the thing about rico. i don't have to carry out the crime. this is the mob boss crime. >> most of the times rico is for the mob. >> it is. ysl. >> starts that way. it starts with the mob and comes down to the black and latino community. >> the former president also in a rico case, too, laura. >> yeah, absolutely. this is why everyone's -- not only because it's ysl, nottage because it represents the reasons you're talking about, joe, and that is the crux of the case, but this is the same crime donald trump was charged with and the same d.a., fani willis, who's looking the this case and saying, how are they going to figure out the rest? but it's different, there are towns in new york saying, you shouldn't use rap lyrics. >> it's the truth. martin scorsese should be in jail 10,000 years. arnold arnold schwarzenegger. >> why should arnold schwarzenegger. >> he killed people in movies. how can you be charged for your imagination? >> one of the things prosecutors say, they say the things that he rapped about actually happened. that's one of the arguments -- >> if you're a gangster rapper, whatever you're rapping about happens in every inner city, and if you can make it close enough you can use that to your advantage. the truth is, if you really want to put these gentleman in jail, and they're real criminals, use real evidence, real facts. >> but they're saying i could have rapped about it, but that doesn't mean i did it. >> exactly. >> you ever felt compromised as far as like, ever worried? >> no, because, you know, mine's don't add up. mine's don't add up. but this definitely puts vulnerability once again to all rappers all around the world, up and coming. and not only that, one thing i agree with you, laura, and you're very intelligent, i do believe freedom of speech is on trial in america right now. we're using the face of a rapper, but this is freedom of speech on trial. >> do you feel that it's just the rap -- the rap community that's under fire? because there have been other genres who have talk about violence. >> shot the sheriff, you know. ♪ mama, just killed a man ♪ >> bohemian rap sody. >> we got to be careful with the youth and take note of this trial. this has been used as trial before, but that's artist joe shmo. they wouldn't take the number one artist and put him on a rico trial. that's unheard of. i'm watching the trial every day. this is on tv. >> it's not just the lyrics, though. and some of it is -- they are talking about ysl as being a subset of the bloods, and they're using body language. they're talking about is it the wipe the nose motion? they're talking about slat. different words to say you have some representation and camaraderie that tells me you're one of them. they're adding that to the lyrics, talking about him renting one of the sedans. i'm not saying he's guilty because there's presumption of innocence. but it's the can you culmination and years' worth. do you think he's the joe shmo? he's the number one rapper in america. >> i don't know how you're number one rapper in america and run a criminalenter enterprise. i don't know how that works. this guy's on tour, hiring people, shooting videos. awards show. to say he's john gotti -- i can't see it in that way. now, i don't know this young man. i don't know. i'm here on the issue of freedom of speech, so i can't tell you what evidence they do or don't have. but i know rico itself is like the easiest case to convict in the world, and then you got the rap lyrics, like, man, the fix is in. it's like, this is a walk in the park. >> so you're very worried about this. >> yeah, it's an ugly case. you know, it's an ugly case. you know, and atlanta's a tight knit community, so everybody knows everybody over there. even though it's a big city, everybody knows everybody over there. and the fact that you have to always keep in mind is the human factor. there's jealousy, there's hatred. you know, i've seen it myself. >> racism. >> racism. i have been in places where, you know, i've watched police officers look at me like, yo, why is he eating steak and lobster in here? why is he drinking champagne and walks past all of us? it brings an envy use jealousy to it. >> well, his trial is just getting start, and all eyes on it. joe, thank you so much. >> thank you. love the bubble gum pink. >> she wants to be known as magenta. [ laughter ] >> magenta. that's when you know you got money, you make up your own colors. >> congratulations on the show. hope it's a hit. >> thank you, i really appreciate it in my magenta suit. >> we have a lot more coming, including a rare interview with nba head coach steve kerr. we'll talk with him right after the break. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. welcome back. we're excited about our next guest. he's one of the great people in the nba. he's won five championships as a player, four as a head coach. but he reached a pinnacle of his life today being the first guest on the "king charles" show. welcome, steve kerr. >> listen, that's nine championships. is that fmore than you, charles? >> that's nine more than me. >> steve kerr is joining us from the chase center in san francisco. fill disclosure, you coach one of my favorite players on one of my favorite teams. shout-out to steph curry. love your team and think the world of you. want to talk about that in just a second, but first, we've all been watching hostages reunited with families the the terrorist attacks in israel. we thought steve kerr would have a unique perspective on this. why? some of you at home may not know about this, but steve kerr was born in