Shaquille O’Neal Breaks Silence on ‘Clickbait’ Rumors About Him

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has spent his life responding to false claims about himself, but according to him, those days are over. During a recent interview, four-time NBA champion O’Neal denounced recent rumors suggesting he may have had an inappropriate relationship with his friend’s wife. Surprisingly, days later, a reality TV star also appeared to claim she had a past connection with O’Neal, who reportedly spent thousands of dollars on her.

Talk with PEOPLEO’Neal, 53, didn’t seem bothered by the recent rumors about him, calling them all “clickbait.” He said: “My favorite thing is always to say: ‘the image is the reality’.

O’Neal recently came under fire after an Instagram account shared an image of him posing with the woman. According to O’Neal, the rumors won’t stop him from engaging with his friends or family.

“Look, everyone wants their page to be famous, I understand that. You have to understand that you don’t go to people’s wives. That’s something you don’t do,” he said, adding: “I’m 53, so I’m done with all that.”

A few weeks ago, two Instagram accounts shared a joint post of the 7-foot athlete posing with a woman from behind. The story describes the photo as the basketball player surprising “another man’s wife with a visit.”

The woman in question is Monique Martin and she captioned the photo: “My favorite man is back in town and of course he stopped by to see his favorite people!!” She added: “It’s always a class act, that’s why I love seeing that face show up!!!”

The father of six reportedly responded to the photo with his own comment, according to PEOPLEwriting: “Yes, my boy’s wife.” He continued: “I can tell your site is down and needs money, give it a try, that’s the reason you’re always going to have a down blog. Thanks for making me more money, even though #dummies.”

O’Neal’s comments come at an interesting time, as a reality TV star Natalie Nunn claimed the NBA star bought her first car while studying sociology at USC. “I was at USC. He bought me a bug, a brand new convertible bug,” she said, according to The explosion. “I was in college and he was playing for the Lakers.”

Nunn, who rose to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on Season 4 of Oxygen’s “Bad Girls Club,” sparked a social media frenzy.

“Why would you say that?” » someone asked. “[He] took care of you and this is how you reward him? Another user offered a different perspective, writing, “Shaq often donates to young people, so it’s not too far-fetched.” »

After her stint on “Bad Girls Club,” Nunn stayed in the spotlight by making appearances on other reality shows. However, it experienced a strong comeback after the launch of the “Baddies” franchise on the Zeus network.

It’s similar to the original “BGC,” featuring some cast members from previous seasons, and shows the women traveling around the world working, “trying to get a bag” and living their lives on their terms.

“I always tell these girls [Baddies]you have to do seven different things to make money if you want to become a millionaire,” Nunn said in a previous interview. “Seven different ways to make money. I have a lot of things I’m involved in.”

Additionally, Nunn said she always tries to instill positive qualities in her co-stars. “You have to manage your time in the best way possible,” she said. “I always get to the airport early. Know what time to get ready, know how far away your destination is, and give yourself an extra 20 minutes. It’s not that hard.”