Shaquille O’Neal has stirred controversy online over comments he made to Angel Reese about her clothing.
The NBA legend, 52, appeared on Reese’s podcast, ‘Unapologetically Angel,’ this week where he pitched a few controversial ideas to help WNBA stars level the playing field and earn as much as their male counterparts.
As part of his suggestions, O’Neal referenced an outfit the Chicago Sky star wore during an off-court appearance and claimed it could have success as part of a business strategy for her.
He brought up a gray long-sleeved top and matching shorts co-ord set that Reese wore to appear on ‘Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘n Out’ – a sketch comedy and battle rap improv game show.
‘Imagine you had on the same little shorts you had on at ‘Wild ‘n Out’ show dunking. How many T-shirts you gon’ sell?’ O’Neal suggested to the 22-year-old during the podcast.
The suggestion triggered a defiant response from Reese who immediately attempted to shut down the topic.
Reese raised her voice and exclaimed that she’s ‘not imaging anything,’ but O’Neal wasn’t perturbed.
‘The same little shorts you had on at ‘Wild ‘n Out.’ … I’m just saying,’ he maintained.
Reese repetitively interrupted by yelling, ‘OK, all right, all right, all right,’ to cut off O’Neal and change the topic.
O’Neal’s comments sparked backlash from fans online as many claimed they were ‘creepy’ or even ‘perverted.’
‘We keep calling it weird but it’s actually perverted & clear that Shaq is sexualizing her,’ one fan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
‘The saddest part is that you can hear the disdain in Angel’s voice but also her exhaling in frustration in hoping he was trusted figure in her life, instead was as always, just another man.’
‘Angel Reese looked like she was getting uncomfortable with Shaq here,’ another account shared alongside the clip of O’Neal’s comments.
‘Shaq sexualizing Angel Reese when he’s 30 years her senior and has kids older than her,’ one social media user wrote alongside a GIF of a woman gagging.
‘I don’t want NO man around me who acts like Shaq did with Angel,’ another chimed in. ‘Imma call you out, tell you you a creepy, nasty mfr, and we can fight abt it if necessary. I’m tired of being embarrassed by you […]’
Some fans hit back at other social media who suggested that Reese inflicted the comments on herself with her outfit choices.
One fan defended Reese, by posting: ‘I’m glad people are recognizing Shaq’s creepy and perverted behavior. What I don’t like is some people following up with “well if Angel dresses like that what does she expect.” She can dress sexy and still not want to be sexually harassed.’
‘That man is supposed to be a mentor figure. A person she can trust. And I’m glad that video is out to show his inappropriate behavior,’ they added in a separate post.
Another echoed their sentiment, saying: ‘I’m blocking any weirdo saying Angel Reese somehow brought on Shaq’s pervy and inappropriate behavior by wearing short shorts. I’m sick of y’all blaming women for men’s bull***.’
O’Neal and Reese had been discussing how NBA players make far more than their female counterparts, with rookie sensation Caitlin Clark making a base salary of just $76,535 this season.
And after Reese said that the WNBA doesn’t pay its players enough, O’Neal revealed to his fellow LSU alum his vision for helping to level the gender pay gap in basketball.
‘I have a solution for that, nobody’s gonna like my solution,’ he began, before suggesting that the WNBA rims should be lowered slightly so that more women can dunk.
‘A lotta people gonna comment, they gon hate this, but… that’s the only thing missing [in the women’s game],’ he continued.
Reese, who can dunk, was extremely disapproving of the idea, as she shook her head and said ‘I hate when men say that.’
The Chicago Sky center didn’t feel that more dunking in the women’s game would get WNBA players paid more, as she added, ‘People always disrespect women regardless. There’s always not gonna give us the same value as a man.’
O’Neal also mentioned Clark in his explanation, as he said, ‘It’s about seeing stuff you ain’t supposed to see… Why you think people love Caitlin Clark ? Besides her skills?’
‘She can shoot threes from logo,’ Reese said.
‘We never seen that before. That’s my point,’ O’Neal said.
Nonetheless, O’Neal claimed that WNBA action resembled a ‘high school game’ unless certain players were involved and added, ‘Our game is different because we do all the stuff. Alley-oops…’
He also said, ‘A pretty girl dunking on the rim, I would watch that all day,’ which did get a chuckle out of Reese, who is signed under him at Reebok.
O’Neal was previously married to ex-wife Shaunie Henderson, until the couple divorced in 2011.
Earlier this year, Henderson said the NBA legend kept ‘going missing’ and that she is unsure if she ever truly loved him.
Henderson and O’Neal got married in December of 2002 and share four children: sons Shareef and Shaquir and daughters Amirah and Me’arah. O’Neal also had a daughter, Taariah, from an earlier relationship. Meanwhile, Henderson’s son Myles, also from a previous relationship, later took the center’s surname.
O’Neal filed for divorce in Miami in September of 2007 after admitting he ‘wasn’t protecting [Henderson] and protecting those vows.’ However, the pair reconciled about a year later – with Henderson telling the Associated Press that they halted the divorce proceedings.
They called it quits again in 2009 before their divorce was finalized in 2011.
