Retired basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, 53, explicitly made it known that he’s not dating 21-year-old OnlyFans model Sophie Rain after a photo of the pair was circulated on social media.
Per TMZ, the rumors about the pair being romantically involved swirled after they posed for a photo when they crossed paths at Rain’s 21st birthday bash.
O’Neal is said to have addressed the rumors and his presence at the event after content creator Noah Glenn Carter said that people were not happy that the former Los Angeles Lakers legend attended Rain’s party.
“I don’t daw (sic) that young but I will date your mom and give u a brother,” O’Neal replied to Carter.
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O’Neal, in a comment that was reportedly later deleted, stated that he was on DJ duties at Encore Beach Club on the night Rain was at the establishment.
“Stop tryna create rumors don’t make me slap you dude,” O’Neal stated. The 53-year-old also told Carter to verify his facts or look for a job.
“Your mom is hot tell her to hit me on my sky tell pager,” he additionally wrote. Carter ultimately apologized to O’Neal and also let him know that his mother had no interest in him. O’Neal accepted his apology.
O’Neal and his ex-wife, Shaunie Henderson, finalized their divorce in 2011 after nine years of marriage. In a 2022 episode of his The Big Podcast with Shaq, the 53-year-old admitted that he was a “serial cheater” and lost his wife and their five children as a result of that.
“I was bad. She [his ex-wife] was awesome,” O’Neal also told The Pivot Podcast in a previous interview. “It was all me. We don’t need to talk about what I was doing, but I wasn’t protecting her and protecting those vows. Sometimes you live that double life and get caught up. I’m not going to say it was her. It was all me.”
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