NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, also known as Diesel, responded to a viral tweet that spread on Monday, showing an alleged photo of him embracing a smaller woman from behind in a mirror selfie.

This alleged “Shaq” was also too tall for the mirror, which only showed his body from the chest down. Moreover, the tweet from @SeanTheTerrible read, “Shaq ain't got no shame… And he needs some. 😂”

On Tuesday, Shaq responded to the accusations and uploaded a video on Instagram, shared via ClutchPoints, showing him embracing a series of women similar to the viral photo, showing the differences between the real Shaquille O'Neal and the photo in the tweet.

Shaq's response also said, “Is this my girlfriend too, trust me I'll let yall know who my woman is, and by the way my woman name is Shaqrah.”

The Shaq allegations

Shaquille O'Neal, also known as Diesel, entertains the crowd as he plays a wide variety of music after the Reds-Brewers game at Great American Ball Park Saturday, August 31, 2024.
© Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

In typical Shaquille O'Neal fashion, the Diesel then doubled down on his response and uploaded another video on Instagram that said, “My real girlfriend knows I'm a big black exotic dancer.”

Besides the viral photo, O'Neal himself is no stranger to online controversy. For instance, he has a famous longstanding beef with centers Dwight Howard and now Rudy Gobert, whom he recently called WOAT (Worst of All Time).

After Gobert fired back at O'Neal's pocket-watching, the Big Aristotle also launched a counterstrike during his latest appearance on The OGs podcast, hosted by former Miami Heat teammate Udonis Haslem and two-time NBA champion Mike Miller.

“If you're talking about your accomplishments or those little trophies you got, that's not enough when you making $250 million young man. It's not enough,” O'Neal said on the show.

Lately, Shaq also downplayed Victor Wembanyama's dominance after his incredible rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs, which saw him claim Rookie of the Year honors.

“Wemby is a great player,” O'Neal said on the Pat McAfee Show. “But I don't really think you can be dominant when you shoot jumpers a lot. I think if he was an inside player at 7-foot-5, the answer would be yes. But when you shoot jumpers, you're always going to go up and down.”

Diesel's causes

Still, the four-time NBA champion is not afraid to use his platform to advocate for issues he believes in. For instance, O'Neal called for equal pay for WNBA players, particularly due to the publicity and revenue brought by rookie sensations Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

“They've always been great,” he said, via Lindsay Schnell of USA Today. “But the space they're in now, it's time for everybody to be getting equal pay. I would love to see one of them making $10 million, $15 million, $20 million a year. They deserve it.”

Besides TV and podcast appearances, Shaquille O'Neal also plays shows as DJ Diesel from time to time as a way to enjoy his retirement. He is also a very prolific product endorser.