Shaquille O'Neal Walks Out Of "Inside The NBA" After Weird Jay-Z Comment

Shaq has walked off the set of his show after a pretty awkward comment about Jay Z.

Daphnie

• Published in Film & TV
• December 18, 2024

Shaquille O'Neal has been known for his poppin' NBA career and his huge stature. Many people know of him because of his height, but he's also been busy with his television show.

His show "Inside the NBA" has been airing on TNT and it's been around for 17 seasons already. Shaq, who is now a retired NBA player has hosted the show alongside Ernie Johnson Jr, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.

A recent episode took a turn after the legendary basketball star needed a moment to compose himself after a comment that was made. O'Neal walked off the stage of the set because of this comment, and now people are wondering why he needed a moment off camera.

This all happened on Tuesday, December 10, when the four of the hosts were having a conversation about whether or not Stephen A Smith could beat Kenny Smith in a free-throw contest. The conversation was normal and seemed to be going okay before Shaq O'Nela needed a breather off-camera.

The comment about Jay Z most likely won't be about what you think it's about, but it's interesting to see how these hosts reacted to said comment. Let's dive in and discuss exactly what was said and how it all went down.

You can see the four hosts here as they talk about the free-throw competition.

The conversation started when Barkley said, "Stephen A played college basketball." "So did a lot of people in the world," Smith said in response, before adding that you have to 'work your way up to the championships'.

You think Jay-Z, or..." he went on before Barkley interjected, saying that it's 'probably not a good time' to discuss Jay Z. Smith immediately started trying to fight off the laughter alongside O'Neal and Johnson.

O'Neal could barely stop himself from laughing and he had to walk off stage and hide behind a wall in order to compose himself.

If you don't know why they shouldn't be talking about Jay Z, then you will know now.

Barkley jumped in to stop Smith from talking about Jay Z because he had just recently been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Sean Diddy Combs and his investigation. Diddy has been in an ongoing investigation regarding a lot of potentially harmful and illegal activities that he's been accused of.

Jay Z has spoken out against the claims after they were made as he came to social media saying:

 "My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a 'lawyer' named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle."

"No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!" he continued.

"These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!"

The lawyer, Buzbee, came out saying, "As far as the allegations in the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media."

Here's a look at the clip where Shaquille O'Neal needed to step off stage.

This just goes to show that everyone is watching and these celebrities really aren't living under a rock either. This conversation wasn't necessarily inappropriate and it's just showing that even celebrities are keeping up with top news stories, especially regarding Diddy's case.

Daphnie