Shaquille O’Neal took some time on his podcast to respond to Kanye West, who recently slandered the NBA legend on Twitter. The back-and-forth between the two celebrities started after O’Neal criticized Kyrie Irving, who faced backlash for posting a link to Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!, a film which is widely regarded as antisemitic.
“It hurts me sometimes when we have to sit up here and talk about stuff that divides the game. Now, we have to answer for what this idiot has done,” O’Neal said on TNT, referring to Irving.
“It hurts me sometimes when we have to sit up here and talk about stuff that divides the game.”
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 1, 2022
Shaq on Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/r3haGIj0U9
West, who is also facing backlash for expressing antisemitic views, questioned O’Neal’s business deals as he went to Twitter to defend Irving. The Grammy-winning artist implied that O’Neal is being duped by Canadian billionaire Jamie Salter. As Blavity previously reported, Salter owns a brand development, marketing and entertainment company known as ABG, which owns a portfolio of global media, entertainment and lifestyle brands.
“Shaq is in business with Jamie Salter,” West tweeted. “Jaimie first said he’s 50/50 with David Beckham and 50/50 with Shaq I said ‘Jamie . . . There’s no such thing as 50/50 in business . . . Who has the extra 1 percent for the control and voting rights.”
O’Neal then replied to West’s comments, using the rapper’s own lyrics.
“Believe me you don’t know me like that,” he said. “Worry about your business, and to quote the once great Kanye west ‘I got more money than you, so why would i listen to you’ take my advice get your family business in order. Have a great day brother.”
Shaq is in business with Jamie Salter
Jaimie first said he’s 50/50 with David Beckham and 50/50 with Shaq
I said “Jamie . . . There’s no such thing as 50/50 in business . . . Who has the extra 1 percent for the control and voting rights” pic.twitter.com/M36WhsMFf1
— ye (@kanyewest) November 4, 2022
On the latest episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, O’Neal said he understands West’s situation.
“When I look at Kanye, I say you know what, I know what he is going through. You know why I know what he’s going through? Because I used to be a narcissist,” O’Neal said. “First example, when you are a narcissist, mama takes the kids away from you. Second example, when you are a narcissist, things start to just go away.”
As O’Neal talked about West’s traits, host Nischelle Turner read a long list of traits which describe a narcissistic person. According to the list, some of the traits of a narcist include exaggerated sense of self importance, entitlement, a need for constant admiration, expectations of being recognized as superior and exaggeration of talent.
O’Neal said he had all those traits at one point in his life, but he matured after going through a divorce and seeing his wife take their children with her.
“When mama left, when the kids left, when my career was over,” he said. “You know how you fix that? You gotta humble yourself. That’s why I am where I am now. I don’t look down on people because they’re lesser.”
