Shaquille O’Neal, also known as Shaq, has faced criticism for his comments about Angel Reese’s ‘little shorts’.
The former NBA star was a guest on the WNBA player’s podcast recently, and the conversation took an awkward turn right from the start.
The two have previously expressed how they consider each other family, with Shaq describing Reese as one of his ‘babies’. During the podcast, they discussed their careers and personal lives.
However, it was a particular moment that made viewers uncomfortable as Shaq commented on Reese’s appearance.
Both Reese and O’Neal were standout athletes at LSU, albeit decades apart, and share a strong bond. Nonetheless, fans have urged Shaq to ease up on his remarks about her physique, especially following her appearance on Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out show.
Reese made a notable appearance on the game show in Chicago on October 10, dressed in a short playsuit.
During their exchange, Shaq remarked about her potentially increasing her earnings: “Bro, imagine you-”
Reese quickly interrupted with, ‘I’m not imagining’, to which Shaq responded, ‘let me finish’.
He persisted despite Reese’s attempts 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-shirt you gon’ sell?”
As Reese repeatedly exclaimed, ‘oh my god’, Shaq tried to restate his point, until Reese interjected with ‘alright’ repeatedly to halt the discussion.
Viewers watching the interaction felt uncomfortable, with one suggesting via a meme on Twitter that the legend should take a ‘horny-be-gone” pill.
A user commented: “Shaq is 52 years old and has gotten a free pass for being creepy because he’s an NBA legend. Angel Reese views Shaq as a father figure mentor type, and he’s commenting on her in booty shorts.”
Another added: “Home girl is visibly uncomfortable.”
One individual referenced Reese’s known rival Caitlin Clark, pointing out that she ‘would never’ behave similarly.
In the same podcast episode, Shaq found himself in another controversy after sharing his admiration for Caitlin Clark.
Initially, he said he was a ‘hater’ due to his ‘love’ for Reese, but admitted he’s become a fan of Clark too.
He equated Clark to NBA Hall of Famer Steph Curry, with Reese noting that the most notable aspect of Clark’s game is her ability to shoot 3-pointers from the logo.
O’Neal elaborated: “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.”