Shaquille O’Neal has been living the life of his dreams during the summer. He has been performing at multiple shows, under the moniker ‘DJ Diesel’, including the Lollapalooza Chicago, and some more in European countries, Croatia, and Ibiza. Adding onto all that, O’Neal also released his album, ‘Gorilla Warfare’, much to the joy of his fans. However, despite his very high profile life, Shaq recently denounced being called a ‘celebrity’, even revealing that he has a certain disdain for being put into the ‘celebrity DJ’ category.
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O’Neal is not particularly fond of people who are put into the category of celebrities. Speaking to People Magazine, he admitted why he hated celebrities and seeks to distance himself from them.
“I denounced myself from being a celebrity thirty years ago because a lot of celebrities are a**holes… I don’t want to be in that category. I’d rather demote myself to being just a regular person before you call me a celebrity and put me in the category of those j**k-offs”
Harsh words from a very honest man. When he spoke on being labeled as a ‘celebrity DJ’ during a separate interview with People, his words didn’t get much kinder either.
Shaquille O’Neal is not fond of being called a ‘celebrity DJ’
Oftentimes, celebrities will look to dabble in things that they aren’t necessarily good at. During those times, fans often understand, and even earnestly enjoy their icon’s efforts, even if they stumble. However, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he would prefer not to be grouped in that same category.
Wanting to be criticized and treated as a professional DJ would, here is what Shaq admitted on the matter.
“They’d put me in the celebrity DJ pool, and I had to do a lot of the celebrity stuff. (Speaking on his first real shot at the Lollapalooza) everybody knew that I knew what I was doing… I was like, “I’m not a celebrity DJ, I’m a real DJ.”
It is admirable of ‘DJ Diesel’ to work so hard at something he picked up halfway through his life. To be fair to the former Lakers star, he is very good at it too, having sold out multiple shows already. He isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon either, as the big man has shows coming up during September 2023, in Denver (8th), Las Vegas (13th), Rome-United States (14th), Dallas (16th), Fortworth (16th), and Thornville (19th).
The 51-year-old sure knows how to party. We wish him the best of luck for all of his shows.
Shaq charges nothing as ‘DJ Diesel’
Despite his fast-building fanbase as ‘DJ Diesel’, Shaquille O’Neal has been known to charge nothing for his gigs. Most with that kind of following often look to get some form of money out of it. When he was asked about the same, here is what he said.
“I’m doing it for the sport of bass music. I love seeing people jumping up and down, it’s like a game seven”
Hold up, how much does @SHAQ get paid to DJ music festivals? 😱 pic.twitter.com/7wSev3u7Il
— SiriusXM (@SIRIUSXM) August 6, 2019
Citing his love for making people have fun and jump, Shaq held firm on his stance of not charging for his shows. Admittedly, it is very hard to deny that he is a man who keeps on giving.
