Shaquille O’Neal is a legend, be it NBA or in real life. Sure, the big man played in the NBA for 19 seasons and will be known as one of the most dominant players in league history. However, that isn’t the only reason why he’d be remembered.
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The Big Diesel retired from the court and immediately joined the other side. He became an on-air analyst for TNT. Over the years, he’s gained a lot of love from fans over the globe. This led to TNT giving him his own space, The Big Podcast. On the latest episode of the same, Shaquille O’Neal defends one of his forever crushes: Rihanna.
The Super Bowl 2023 took place on Sunday, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking down the Philadelphia Eagles. It was an incredible comeback led by Patrick Mahomes, which left Eagles loyals all across the country in a state of tears. The game was an amazing one, but what sweetened the pot was Rihanna and her halftime performances.
The Queen of Pop took over and set the stage on fire.
Rihanna took the stage for an epic Super Bowl halftime show performance! #SBLVII pic.twitter.com/G6YkyJ2BbH
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 13, 2023
In fact, her performance had 5.7 Million more viewers than the game itself.
Rihanna’s halftime performance had more viewers than the Super Bowl 😮
(via @FOXSports) pic.twitter.com/Oajp31Q1gN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 14, 2023
Despite the same, there were people who did not care for what Rihanna brought to the table.
Shaquille O’Neal defends Rihanna for her Super Bowl Performance
After the half-time performance, there were people like the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, who attacked Rihanna.
Donald Trump attacks Rihanna, calls her halftime show the “worst” in Super Bowl history. pic.twitter.com/p0bXy1ua9P
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 13, 2023
WWE legend Goldberg took to his podcast and said,
“I thought Rihanna was frickin horrible. I was disgusted by it. That’s all. Let’s just say that. I thought it was horrible.”
However, there was one man who stood up for the Queen: Shaquille O’Neal. On his podcast, Shaq said,
“All you people disrespecting my Rihanna, shut your face, she did a wonderful job. She’s pregnant. She blessed it, she didn’t fall. Just leave it there. All you superstars that’s disrespecting and causing beef … shut it up.”
In fact, Shaq went one step ahead and said that if he was in A$AP Rocky’s shoes, he’d be defending her in public.
“If she was my woman and I seen one of you superstars do that, I’m gonna have to get at you.” “Rappers. Presidential candidates. I’m gonna have to get at you. Leave her alone.”
Well said Shaq. Everyone should defend their partner when things like this happen. It’s a shock that A$AP Rocky has stayed silent.
Shaq has loved Rihanna for a long time
Shaq’s love for Rihanna is no secret. The big man has been open about his admiration for the Queen of Pop for a long time. In fact, once he went after his own son, who was also thirsting after RiRi.
Daddy Shaq is something else… pic.twitter.com/4MdlpV10hs
— Tonoy Sengupta (@TonoySengupta) August 17, 2022
However, this isn’t all. Once, Shaq was willing to go as far as to change his own name for Rihanna.
Each artist has die-hard fans, but to see someone of Shaq’s status fawn like this is rare. We hope RiRi loves him as much as she loves LeBron James.
Also Read: ‘Thirsty Rihanna fan Shaquille O’Neal was Once Ready To ‘Legally Change’ His Name For Popstar