Shaquille O’Neal is a social media beast. Having succeeded in an era where social media was not even a far-fetched dream, the way to popularity wasn’t as easily carved. Especially when compared to the advent of Instagram and Twitter.
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Today, it is hard to imagine a celebrity not interacting with fans and their respective communities through these apps. While there may be athletes like Shohei Ohtani who still shy away from using it too much, Shaq is not one of them.
In fact, Shaq revels in his ability to use it properly. His IG story game is especially impressive. O’Neal bombards his fans with IG stories and comments which range from Mike Tyson to Michael Jordan to Angel Reese. This time, though, O’Neal has found a way to roast his friend and NBA on TNT co-analyst Charles Barkley.
Shaquille O’Neal ‘Fat Shames’ Charles Barkley on Instagram post
This Instagram page called arteficialismo specializes in creating AI images of celebrities and pop culture figures. In its latest series, the IG page posted images of ultra-famous athletes, singers, actors, and politicians in a world where they did not become successful.
Apparently, Shaquille O’Neal requested an image and arteficialismo granted his wish. But Big Aristotle had one problem with the picture. He thought his belly in it suited Charles Barkley more.
On the post, Shaq commented: “Why You Give me the (Charles) Barkley Belly”
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This isn’t the first time Shaq has taken a dig at Barkley. The 7ft 1″ Lakers legend often incites banter with his NBA on TNT co-analyst. In fact, Shaq really enjoys going after Chuck for his weight and his lack of a ring.
Lmaoo Barkley belly 🤣🤣🤣
I can’t even 🤣 pic.twitter.com/qARXPYV7Lj— DubNation(2022 NBA CHAMPIONS) (@dubs3000) April 6, 2023
However, though their interactions are hilarious, Shaq does go after Charles’ weight a little too much. What makes it worse is the fact that Barkley has publicly stated his struggles with weight gain and losing the extra pounds, but Shaq remains relentless.
Chuck has struggled with his weight since retirement
252lbs Barkley was never the fittest most shredded NBA player. His nickname Round Mound of Rebound reflects his body type and playing style. But still, Barkley wasn’t overweight. He was physically fit and dominated the game so his weight wasn’t that big a deal.
But all of that changed when Barkley retired. He began gaining too much weight and has struggled with it since. So, undeniably, Shaq’s constant taunting may be a tad bit too much for the Sixers legend.