Shaquille O’Neal has denied a viral rumor that he tried to shoot his shot with Sabrina Carpenter by sending her messages on social media.
The 54-year-old former NBA star addressed the speculation during a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, asking guests Jim Jones and Bailey Jackson if they believed a certain headline he saw online.
“Shaq exposed for shooting his shot with Sabrina Carpenter,” Jones read, looking at O’Neal’s phone.
O’Neal went on to read the fake messages, starting with one that was supposed to be from him. “Damn, baby, I would keep your farts in a cologne bottle and spray it on me every day,” he read. “Just jokes. I’m Shaq. What’s your name, baby?”
The message was met with a response from a fake Carpenter, which read: “I know who you are. You're way too famous to be sending me messages like that.”
The fake O’Neal responded, “I can't be horny and want some of that snow bunny kitty for myself. You're being rude for no reason. You can’t handle Big Diesel anyway.”
When Jackson said that she “definitely did not believe” that those messages were real, O’Neal pointed out that they still “went viral.”
The former Los Angeles Lakers star further established that the messages were fake. “First of all, ladies, the Diesel got way more game than that. I’m just saying,” he said, referring to the iconic nickname he earned in the NBA that he now uses to DJ.
“I was about to say— the first line was crazy if that's how you're busting through people's DMs,” Jones added.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Carpenter for comment.
O’Neal has previously addressed and denied rumors about his dating life. In October, he hit back at claims that he was dating 21-year-old OnlyFans model Sophie Rain, after a picture of them at her birthday party went viral.
“I don’t [date] that young but I will date your mom and give u a brother,” he wrote in the comments of an Instagram video shared by TikTok star Noah Glenn Carter, who was assuming that O’Neal and Rain were a couple.

O’Neal also denied claims in December that he was involved with his friend’s wife, Monique Martin, whom he’d taken a picture with.
“Yes my boy's wife I can tell yall site is broke and need money nice try this is the reason yall always gonna be a broke blog,” he commented on an Instagram photo of him and Martin, featuring the headline about him “surprising another man’s” wife. “Thanks for making me more money though #dummies.”
He addressed the “clickbait” rumors that have circulated about his personal life during an interview with People, noting that nothing would stop him from “taking pictures” with his friends and fans.
“[When] the false narrative comes out and you get another guy taking the picture and putting it on his page...it's all clickbait,” he told the publication in December. “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.”
I cured my phone addiction overnight – and this is how
Nutrition expert explains the downside of new ‘boy kibble’ food trend
We’re obsessed with protein – while the real health crisis is being ignored
What are fibroids? The condition that affects two in every three women
What everyone should know before asking ChatGPT for medical advice
Is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate? Two dietitians weigh in