Shaq’s $20 million slip-up: flat Earth claim costs him big time
Shaquille O’Neal learned the hard way that sometimes it pays to keep your opinions to yourself. The Diesel hilariously revealed that he could have been millions of dollars richer had he not joined in on 2017’s flat Earth debate on a new episode of Complex’s “GOAT Talk.”
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He was joined by his son Myles O’Neal as they discussed their all-time favorite rappers, NBA players, and the section of the web where outliers revel in conspiracy theories. When asked about their choice presumptions, Shaq quipped, “Y’all gon’ get me in trouble with this one.”
Myles offered up the web lore about pigeons being government-operated drones to surveil the public. The 27-year-old, who is also following in his dad’s DJ footsteps, hipped the NBA great to the online movement that has some people side-eyeing birds. Shaq playfully offered up that believers may be on to something when asked if he had ever seen a baby pigeon. “I’ve been saying that for years,” he said with raised eyebrows.
But when it came time for the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar to spill on his favorite conspiracy, he rehashed his experience speaking publicly about the controversial debate: round Earth vs. flat Earth. “This [is] a true story. I said earth was flat one time, and I lost a f**king big deal on that. Yeah, cause [of] the haters,” he said. He steered clear of revealing the company but mentioned that decision makers were bombarded with 500,000 complaints, which ultimately led them to renege on the partnership. “Big deal, like $20 million,” he claimed.
In 2017, he sent the media into a frenzy when he seemed to endorse the flat Earth theory. “I drive from coast to coast, and this s**t is flat to me,” he said on “The Big Podcast With Shaq.” He further doubled down on his reasoning, as he explained, “I’m just saying, I drive from Florida to California all the time, and it’s flat to me. I do not go up and down at a 360-degree angle, and all that stuff about gravity. Have you looked outside Atlanta lately and seen all these buildings? You mean to tell me that China is under us? China is under us? It’s not. The world is flat.”
Earth’s spherical shape was a huge point of contention that year, as Kyrie Irving also found himself pummeled with backlash after admitting his own research led him to question the accuracy of the planet’s description. The Dallas Mavericks point guard later issued an apology directed at educators who faced curriculum hurdles from impressionable students.
Shaq, on the other hand, declared that he was simply poking fun at the debate when he made his remarks. “The first part of the theory is I’m joking, you idiots,” he said during an appearance on the “Art of Charm” podcast later that year.
Elsewhere in “GOAT Talk,” the Naismith Hall of Fame inductee admitted that conspiracies surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1964 also piqued his curiosity.
Check out the full video below.
