Shaquille O’Neal has issued an apology to Drake after sharing a Photoshopped image that stirred some controversy. During an episode of The Big Podcast, the basketball legend explained his actions and expressed regret.
On June 28, O’Neal shared an edited photo of himself on a boat with a girl in a bikini, whose face had been replaced with that of the “Hotline Bling” rapper. The image, which was accompanied by the Metro Boomin diss track “BBL Drizzy,” quickly gained attention.
“Let me apologize right quick. I sent out a picture the other day. The mistake I made was that I should’ve said, ‘Who did this?’ Because I want Drake to know…,” O’Neal began, clarifying that he did not create the edited image.
O’Neal continued, “Listen, Drake has a great sense of humor, so I thought it was funny that they did it. I don’t want him to think — like, I saw ‘Shaq’s trolling.’ No, I’m not trolling.”
He emphasized that he did not Photoshop the image himself. “Somebody Photoshopped it and I actually saw it and I took the picture,” O’Neal explained. “So, Drake, I apologize. I should have put ‘Who was this?’ on there, because I don’t want you to think I did that. Somebody sent it to me, I thought it was funny, and hopefully you thought it was funny, too. But once it went viral, I definitely took it down. So, my bad, big Drake.”
This apology comes amid ongoing tensions in the rap world, particularly involving Drake. Despite the incident, O’Neal made it clear that his intentions were not malicious and he hopes Drake understands his lighthearted perspective.
