Shaquille O’Neal is an open book. He often speaks about his personal life and the mistakes he’s made. The Big Diesel isn’t afraid of being himself either. But did he really tell popular singer Sabrina Carpenter that she “can’t handle Big Diesel”? Those are the kind of claims going around with a screenshot going absolutely viral.
The question is, are these true? Did Shaq really try to spark a relationship with Carpenter, who is 28 years younger than him? We don’t need to examine the claims. The four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer directly addressed the rumors on his latest podcast episode.
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Did Shaquille O’Neal send dirty messages to Sabrina Carpenter?
On the recent episode of the Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers icon directly addressed the widely viral post about his DM exchange with Sabrina Carpenter. He decided to ask his committee of guests whether they felt it was true. They denied it. And so did Shaq.
Notably, he said, “First of all, the Diesel has way more game than that”.
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But that’s besides the point. It’s the nature of the messages that should have proved it wasn’t indeed Shaquille O’Neal. First of all, why introduce himself if he is sending the message directly from his Instagram handle? Also, Sabrina Carpenter has never once claimed the exchange happened, nor was she responsible for sharing the screenshots.
The origin of the exchange came from an Instagram page that goes by @nba_flames. It is a parody account that shares false news about NBA players. The page shared a similar exchange between Pelicans star Zion Williamson and singer Ice Spice. So don’t worry. This wasn’t Shaquille O’Neal.
Is Shaquille O’Neal in a relationship?
Shaq has only had one highly publicised relationship. He was married to Shaunie Henderson from 2002 to 2009. The couple parted ways in 2011, with the Big Aristotle openly taking the blame. He takes accountability for not being a model husband and now supports Henderson as they co-parent their five children.
Since then, Shaquille O’Neal has always felt he could end up alone. However, that did change this year. In an interview with Fox26’s Jade Flury, the 54-year-old said he wants to “probably get married soon”. His expectations aren’t lofty either. Shaq just wants a “nice” partner to spend time with.
As of now, there’s been no reported developments in Shaquille O’Neal’s personal life.
