Charles Barkley Joked He ‘Heard Doughnut’ While The TNT Crew Debated Laurel And Yanny

A couple of years back, everyone online was debating the color of the dress. Friends became enemies. Families were torn apart. This week, an audio variation of that meme quickly went viral. Without getting too bogged down in the nuances of it, people essentially either hear the word “Laurel” or “Yanny” when listening to this particular audio clip, depending on a number of factors. You can read a full primer on it here.

On Wednesday night prior to tip-off of Game 2 between the Warriors and Rockets, the Inside the NBA crew decided to give it whirl. E.J. gave a brief explanation, then played to the clip, with both he and Kenny saying they heard the word “Laurel,” while Shaq said he heard some combination of the two but eventually landed on “Yanny.”

Chuck, however, heard something else entirely, which may or may not have to do with whether he skipped lunch today.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a practical joke perpetrated by the TNT crew, and while it’s a good one, it truly would’ve been amazing if the Chuckster actually suffered from that level of Freudian selective hearing.

Like every great meme, the Laurel-Yanny debate has already spawned countless subsidiary memes of its own, and it probably won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Long live the internet.