“Your Knuckles Look Scraped”: Shaquille O’Neal Revisits Jeff Ross Roasting Him in 2003

Shaquille O’Neal has always been able to laugh at himself. The Hall of Famer has a thick skin and doesn’t mind being the butt of jokes as long as everyone’s having a good time. He proved this in 2002 when he agreed to be roasted by multiple celebrities in an event called Shaq’s Comedy All-Star Roast. Recently, a clip from this unhinged event went viral on social media, even landing on his timeline.

Back then, dark jokes did not cause as much outrage as they do today. So many took liberties and made some vile comments about O’Neal and other roasters. However, one of comedian Jeff Ross’ jokes was so unhinged, that he might get canceled in retrospect. He first complimented the Hall of Famer’s looks before hitting him with a vile punchline. Ross said,

“You [Shaquille O’Neal] look good, you look good! [But], your knuckles look scraped!”. 

For the uninitiated, the comedian drew a parallel between the four-time NBA champion and a gorilla. They use their hind legs to propel themselves while resting on their knuckles for support, causing them to scrape. Of course, this joke is beyond insensitive. However, O’Neal not only chuckled but even took a little look at his knuckles to make it funnier. He fully succeeded as the audience laughed even louder.

Of course, times have changed. Ross would never get away with a joke with a racial connotation and likely won’t even make it fearing the backlash it would receive. Yet, O’Neal still seems to find it downright hilarious, considering he shared the clip on his Instagram stories.

Many wouldn’t have tolerated that joke back then, let alone in today’s sensitive times. Given the racial undertones to it, it would be difficult to blame anyone for a negative reaction. However, O’Neal doesn’t mind poking fun at himself. And given that he can take a joke as long as it makes someone laugh, it’s no surprise that he still enjoys the one-liner.