Shaquille O’Neal, also known as Shaq, has faced criticism online for his remarks concerning Angel Reese’s ‘little shorts’.
The former NBA star made an appearance on the current WNBA player’s podcast recently, leading to an awkward interaction right from the start.
Both Reese and Shaq, who have previously expressed mutual admiration and familial affection with Shaq referring to Reese as one of his ‘babies’, discussed their careers and personal lives during the podcast episode.
However, one particular moment made viewers uncomfortable due to Shaq’s comments about Reese’s appearance.
Reese and O’Neal both achieved stardom at LSU three decades apart, and despite the age difference, they maintain a strong bond. Nevertheless, fans have urged Shaq to refrain from making repeated comments about Reese’s body, as seen during her appearance on Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out show.
Reese made a notable appearance on the game show in Chicago on October 10, wearing a playful outfit that was quite short.
During their discussion, Shaq commented on her potential earnings by saying: “Bro, imagine you-”
Reese quickly interrupted with, ‘I’m not imagining’, to which Shaq responded, ‘let me finish’.
He persisted with his point, despite Reese trying to steer the conversation away: “Imagine you had on the same little shorts you had on at Wild n’ Out show dunking. How many t-shirts you gon’ sell?”
As Reese repeatedly said, ‘oh my god’, Shaq attempted to restate his comment, prompting Reese to continuously interject with ‘alright’ until he eventually ceased talking.
The interaction left many viewers feeling uneasy, with one individual humorously suggesting on Twitter that Shaq needed a ‘horny-be-gone’ pill.
Another person commented: “Shaq is 52 years old and has gotten a free pass for being creepy because he’s an NBA legend. Angel Reese looks at Shaq like a father figure mentor type and he’s talking about her in booty shorts lmao.”
Someone else noted: “Home girl is visibly uncomfortable.”
Another user mentioned Reese’s long-standing rival Caitlin Clark, noting that she ‘would never’ be in such a situation.
Regarding Clark, Shaq found himself in another controversy after expressing admiration for her on the same podcast episode.
He initially stated he was a ‘hater’ due to his ‘love’ for Reese but admitted he couldn’t get enough of her talent.
O’Neal made a comparison between Clark and NBA Hall of Famer Steph Curry, with Reese adding that the most impressive aspect of Clark’s game is her ability to shoot 3-pointers from far distances.
Shaq remarked: “We’ve never seen that before. That’s my point. Steph Curry, a little kid like Steph Curry, you know why I love Steph Curry? Because I’ve never seen that before. I’ve never seen that before. I’ve seen it a little bit, but I’ve never seen a guy consistently come down.
“If you saw Steph on the street, he ain’t got the Lebron muscles. He looks like a perfect, normal office guy. He’s doing stuff that people never seen before. She’s doing stuff we’ve never seen before. Never seen nobody do that on a consistent basis.”