Shaquille O’Neal has moved to shut down what he describes as “clickbait” rumours about his personal life, saying he has no interest in feeding false narratives spread online.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, the NBA Hall of Famer addressed recent speculation that followed a blog posting a photo of him alongside a friend’s wife. O’Neal said the image was framed in a misleading way and quickly spiralled across social media.
The 53-year-old made clear he has reached a point where he will no longer engage with those stories.
‘I’m done with all that’
“Listen, everybody wants their page to be famous, I understand it,” O’Neal told PEOPLE. “You have to understand, you don’t go to people’s wives. That’s something you just don’t do.”
O’Neal said he has no intention of changing how he lives or interacts with people because of how moments are portrayed online.
“Nothing is going to stop me from taking pictures,” he said. “But when the false narrative comes out, and you get another guy taking the picture and putting it on his page… It’s all clickbait.”
For O’Neal, the issue is not attention but intent. He said the problem comes when images are used to suggest something that never happened.
“My favorite thing is always saying, ‘image is reality,’” O’Neal said.
Ultimately, he said his priorities have shifted.
“I’m 53, so I’m done with all that.”
Focus shifts to Super Bowl weekend
While addressing the rumours, O’Neal also spoke about his upcoming Shaq’s Fun House event, which returns during Super Bowl weekend in February.
The former Lakers star said he created the party after growing tired of traditional Super Bowl events.
“Every Super Bowl party that I’ve attended is just people standing around, can’t hear the music, talking, walking around,” O’Neal said.
He added that if fans are asked to pay for entry, the experience needs to match it.
“And a lot of times you charge people to get into these parties,” he said. “So if we’re going to charge people to get into parties, we want you to have fun.”
‘We want you to have fun’
O’Neal outlined what separates his event from others on the Super Bowl circuit.
“We have carnival rides, we have carnival performers, refreshments, sponsors there,” he said. “Ice cream, water pitchers, free throw contest games, and then we’re going to have your favorite performers.”
This year’s lineup includes T-Pain, Tiësto and O’Neal’s son Myles.
“It’s going to be great weather and a great time,” O’Neal said.
