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

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

Speaking with PEOPLE, O’Neal, 53, didn’t seem bothered by the recent rumors about himself, calling them all “clickbait.” He said, “My favorite thing is always saying, ‘image is 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 friends or family.

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

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

The woman in question is named Monique Martin, and she captioned the photo, “My favorite guy is back in town and of course he stopped by to see his favorite people!!” She added, “Class act always, which is why I love seeing that face pop in!!!”

The father of six reportedly replied to the photo with a comment of his own, according to PEOPLE, writing, “Yes my boys wife.” He went on, “I can tell yall site is broke and need money nice try this is the reason yall always gonna b a broke blog. Thanks for making me more money though #dummies.”

O’Neal’s comments come at an interesting time, as reality TV star Natalie Nunn claimed that the NBA star purchased her first car while she was studying sociology at USC. “I was at USC. He bought me a bug, a brand new convertible bug,” she said, according to The Blast. “I was in college and he played 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 tell this?” someone asked. “[He] looked out for you and this is how you repay him?” Another user offered a different perspective, writing, “Shaq does donate to the youth often, though, so it’s not too far fetched.”

After her time on “Bad Girls Club,” Nunn stayed in the limelight by making appearances on other reality shows. However, she experienced a massive resurgence after launching 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 life on their terms.

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

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