Long-time NBA fans will remember the kind of crush Shaquille O’Neal has had on popular actress Halle Berry. Shaq has revealed his unwavering love for the global icon multiple times, even outlining her role in what proved to be his favorite moment while playing for the Lakers, during an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson show years ago.
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While nothing ever transpired between Shaq and the acclaimed Hollywood diva, Gilbert Arenas recently revealed a shocking story about the actress that allegedly happened during the 2003-04 NBA season.
Arenas was in his first year at the Washington Wizards back then. He claimed that during a playoff match that year, the actress was one of several celebrities watching the game. The 41-year-old added that in the front row of seats, he heard a group of white men talking about the actress.
“There were like 4-5 white dudes, like sitting there. Now [I know] Harvey Weinstein, he was one of them…And, they were sitting there talking about, ‘Oh now she acting like she don’t know us. She wasn’t saying that when she needed that part,’” Arenas said, claiming that he later realized one of the men was none other than former film producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.
Arenas further claimed that the group was joking about how Halle Berry didn’t pretend to not know them when she wanted a film role.
“Every single one of them hit. I was like, ‘No, not Halle. No not them, yuck!’ Damn, they got the berry…How do you think them ugly motha****as are getting off? You think they got it on looks? No, they got to promise shit…” he added.
Therefore, the former NBA star effectively claimed that Weinstein and several of his colleagues took favors from the famed actress before casting her in movie roles. The highly controversial allegations obviously have no other evidence to back them, apart from Arenas’ testimony. The three-time All-Star then proceeded to joke about the situation, claiming that he could hardly believe that the group of old men had managed to sleep with the famous actress.
The clip from what seemed like Arenas live streaming was shared on Twitter by The Art of Dialogue and led to a range of stunned reactions from fans. Still, most seemed sensible enough to criticize Gilbert Arenas’ decision to make the story public.
“This seems like the kind of story that’s best kept private, considering the individual’s background, cultural context, and public perception,” one fan wrote. Others claimed that the story could well be true but shouldn’t have been recounted in public.
One user in particular claimed that the sidelining of Black women in Hollywood was quite prevalent. “Abuse and sidelining of Black female leads in Hollywood is one of the many reasons one consciously decided to be choosy about what one watches from that industry, they have too many horror stories to ignore,” they wrote.
NBA fans still remember a different story about Halle Berry
Arenas mentioned that the incident occurred back during the 2003-04 playoffs. While nothing ever transpired between Shaquille O’Neal and the woman he claimed to be his biggest crush, Shaq was in the final year of his stay in LA when Arenas alleges the incident took place.
Of course, O’Neal was basically smitten with the actress and claimed on the Kelly Clarkson Show that he was flustered when he saw her sitting in the stands during a game in Madison Square Garden. Shaq tried hard to impress the actress and even won over his nervousness to make the free throw. However, Shaq’s romance with Halle Berry never actually took off despite the two exchanging letters once.
While several actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale, have claimed that Weinstein made questionable offers to them, Halle Berry herself has never addressed the issue. That puts a huge question mark on Arenas’ claims, who might as well get in trouble for his comments.
