A month after NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal shared a snapshot featuring himself, Ice Spice, Taylor Swift, and friends at the Super Bowl, the NBA legend has finally spoken on his viral comments about the rising New York rapper.
Shaq complimented her in the post, saying the 24-year-old was “so damn fine.” Critics have since labeled the father of six as a dirty old man, pointing out the age difference between him and the Bronx bombshell, who is younger than his eldest child.
After rubbing elbows with the "Shake It Off" sensation after the game, the basketball luminary shared their encounter the next day on social media. The 52-year-old expressed how hyped was to meet the "Munch" rapper and captured the moment on Instagram with him standing alongside Ice Spice’s producer, Riot, and Jamie Salter, the mastermind behind Authentic Brands Group, which acquired Reebok in March 2022.
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Shaq and Salter share a professional tie; Salter appointed the baller as the newly named Reebok president of basketball. Shaq is the second-largest individual shareholder in Authentic Brands Group.
The two gifted Swift with an NFL Judith Lieber bag, but that was not what sent ripples throughout social media. It was what he said in the post that had people doing a double take.
“Unc smoking on durk and gurk that caption is foul,” one person wrote under the photograph, as another wrote, “Shaq hungry.”
Many people online joked that Shaq must have been “hacked,” believing there was no way he could have written such words. Either way, Ice Spice approved and liked the post.
The athlete-turned-podcast host confirmed that he wasn’t hacked on the latest episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”
“The reason why I put out the post with Ice Spice, not ‘cause I was trying to flirt, but I didn’t really blow her off, but I just wanted to show her some respect too,” Shaq explained on the latest episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”
He shared that Jason Kelce, the brother of Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, helped introduce him to the pop star. The Hall of Famer said he left his suite and went over to Swift's during halftime to bring her bag when he saw the young rapper. He said the picture and caption was his way of showing her “some respect.”
"So me and my partner Jamie Salter ... we go down and I take a picture and I see her. Ice Spice is fine as f--k by the way. She's really hot. So I just took a picture and I come back. She was nice, very nice."
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