Kanye West appears to have incurred the ire of Shaquille O’Neal, with the NBA icon reportedly admonishing the controversial rapper and recounting their apparent encounter at the Super Bowl.
In a recent Instagram post dated Monday (February 12), Ye praised Dov Charney, the founder of American Apparel who faced allegations of sexual misconduct and was subsequently fired from the company in 2014. West credited Charney, who was hired as the CEO of the Yeezy clothing brand in 2023, for supporting him when others turned away.
“DOV CHARNEY IS MY BROTHER AND ME AND MY WIFE’S BUSINESS PARTNER WHEN JAMIE SALTER AND EVERYONE ELSE WOULDN’T TAKE MY CALLS HE LET ME SLEEP AT HIS FACTORY DOV CHARNEY, JONAH HILL AND JON RAFMAN ARE 3 PEOPLE WHO INSPIRED MY APOLOGY,” West wrote in the original caption, referring to his December 2023 note to “the Jewish community.”
However, West later amended the caption to read, “NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE FOR YOU WHEN EVERYONE ELSE HAD THEIR BACKS TURNED.”
This post purportedly prompted Shaquille O’Neal to roast Ye in the comments section. In a screenshot circulating online, Shaq seemingly wrote, “Who cares stop bitchin and snitchin. i kno u saw me at the Super Bowl i was waiting for u to say something smart. man up. nobody wanna see u cryin man up lil boy.”
It’s important to note that the authenticity of this comment has not been independently verified by HipHopDX.
Ye and Shaq have had a rocky relationship in the past. Last November, Kanye aired out Shaquille O’Neal’s business on Twitter (now known as X) after the NBA star criticized Kyrie Irving. West called out Shaq for his business ties with Jewish billionaire Jamie Salter, suggesting a conflict of interest in Shaq’s remarks about Irving.
The exchange underscored the complex dynamics between celebrities and their business ventures, highlighting issues of control and representation in the industry.
