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Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal has responded to the widespread rumor suggesting he sent direct messages to Sabrina Carpenter.
“First of all, ladies, the diesel has way more game than that,” O’Neal, 54, remarked during the March 20 episode of his “Big Podcast” show after reading the supposed flirtatious messages. “Just putting it out there.”
Earlier this month, social media was abuzz with screenshots of risqué messages allegedly sent to the 26-year-old Carpenter from an Instagram account that appeared to be O’Neal’s.
“Damn, baby, I would keep your farts in a cologne bottle and spray it on me every day,” O’Neal recited, quoting the purported messages. “Just kidding, I’m Shaq. What’s your name, baby? To which Sabrina reportedly replied, ‘I know who you are. You’re way too famous to be sending messages like that.’”
In a separate interview, Shaquille O’Neal displayed his charm while speaking with a female reporter. During a candid discussion with Fox 26 Houston reporter Jade Flury on January 14, O’Neal, 53, reflected on life’s challenges, noting that “there’s no manual on how to handle certain things.”
O’Neal allegedly replied, “I can’t be horny and want some of that snow bunny kitty for no reason. You can’t handle big diesel anyway.”
O’Neal subsequently acknowledged that a photoshopped image of himself was added to the seemingly AI-created message.
O’Neal’s podcast guest, Jim Jones, further noted that social media is a “dangerous place.”
“It’s so crazy what people are spending their energy and time on,” Jones, 49, said. “I would think they would have better things to do.”
According to O’Neal, “youngsters” seem to “be [all] about the algorithm and going viral.”
“Social media is a great way for you to gain business and for you to market and promote your business,” Jones said. “That’s what I use it for. Everyone has their own elaborate ways and schemes that they use social media platforms. I use it for music, I use it for my content [and] I use it for pretty much everything I have going on.”
Shaquille O’Neal cleared the air after a cuddly photo with a female friend went viral, explaining that not every picture is necessarily worth a thousand words. O’Neal, 53, posed for a snap with a friend named Monique Martin last week, wrapping his arms around her from behind as the pair smiled for the camera. “My […]
Jones also stated that “social media is there for entertainment.”
“Whatever’s going on today, it’s not going to last past three days,” he said. “If you feel that social media is working against you, it’s never working against you. You’ve got to figure out how to make it work for you even when it is working against you ‘cause now you have millions of eyes on you.”
Neither O’Neal nor Carpenter have further addressed the fake text conversation.
O’Neal, for his part, was previously married to Shaunie Wilson from 2002 to 2011. O’Neal and Wilson, share five children. (O’Neal is also father to daughter Taahirah from a previous relationship with Arnetta Yardbourgh.)
In the years since his divorce, O’Neal has sparked dating rumors with a number of famous faces. After he was spotted with OnlyFans creator Sophie Rain on her 21st birthday, the NBA alum denied claims of a budding romance.
Shaquille O’Neal’s kids may be following in his athletic footsteps, but he’s making sure they understand their privilege in the sports world. “I want them to be model citizens. I want them to be very educated and I want them to understand nepotism, respectable nepotism,” O’Neal, 51, exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, September 18, […]
“I don’t [date] that young but I will date your mom and give u a brother,” he wrote via Instagram comment in October 2025 after a social media user questioned the pair’s large age gap.
Rain also shut down the speculation in a statement shared with Us Weekly.
“He reached out to me after and was like damn, we are famous, haha, I don’t know why people think we are dating,” Rain exclusively told Us. “People are running with a wild story, but Shaq was nothing but respectful. It was my 21st birthday and he made it unforgettable. I laughed when I saw the rumors. Shaq’s response says it all. He was never trying to be anything more than supportive and fun.”
As for Carpenter, she’s been single since December 2024, when she and actor Barry Keoghan called it quits after nearly one year of dating.