Shaquille O’Neal is a certified sports savage, and if he didn’t make it clear by his absolute dominant play on the court, then his response to an accusation from a former friend of his ex-wife would definitely make that savage reputation apparent.
O’Neal recently sat down with Carlos King on his YouTube show “Reality With The King,” where he responded to Royce Reed, the ex of former NBA player Dwight Howard, who accused the 15-time all-star of flirting with her during his marriage to his now ex-wife Shaunie Henderson.
His response was terse and savage:
“Somebody needs money.”
O’Neal’s savage response basically meant that he believed that Reed was simply trying to bring this accusation up now for some attention and opportunities to make money off of it.
But the reason he believes this, isn’t just because of someone’s clout chasing motive.
It was also revealed by Carlos King in an interview with Royce Reed herself that at the time when O’Neal allegedly flirted with her over text message, she brought the proof to directly to Henderson.
Shaunie and Royce Were On Basketball Wives
Shaunie Henderson and Royce Reed were both on the reality show “Basketball Wives” at the time, and Shaunie was one of the producers of the show.
Though Reed claimed that she confided in Henderson, she also didn’t know if she could trust her, because other members of the cast began questioning her.
“I had sent her a thread where her ex-husband had been texting me,” Reed said. “Nothing ever happened. He actually cursed me out cause I didn’t want to talk to him. I wanted everything to be out in the open. I wanted her to see everything so if anything happened or said, she’d knew it wasn’t true.”
Reed Has Kids With Dwight Howard and Was A Miami Heat Dancer
But this was back in 2006-07 when Shaquille was still an active NBA player on the Miami Heat and Reed was a dancer for the Heat.
Reed, Christine Vest, Hope Alexa, and Tiffany Render are the respective mothers of Dwight Howard’s five kids, but all of that is old news.
It is now 2023, why is she just now trying to bring this to light?
Shaq was most likely having the same thought process when he figured she probably wanted to find another opportunity to make some quick money or move herself back into the social media mosh pit off his name and profile.
But regardless of the situation, O’Neal and Henderson are no longer together, and Shaq claims that he is on to bigger and better things and just wants to enjoy his peaceful life moving forward.
He explained as much in a tweet after these flirting accusations arose from Reed.
“The older you get the more you realize how precious life is,” O’Neal said. “You have no desire for drama, conflict, or stress. You just want good friends, a cozy home, food on the table, and people who make you happy.”
Shaq Denies Royce Reed’s Flirting Accusations
Shaq is excusing himself from this drama, especially because it was so long ago and those are skeletons from his past.
While Reed hasn’t made many big-time moves in the past 15 years, Shaq continues to ascend to historic levels as a businessman and sports personality.
He has many endorsements, business deals, and positive things happening in his life, which also includes watching his children grow and develop.
The last thing O’Neal wants to deal with is a situation from the past, from someone who is known to exploit opportunities for fame and probably “needs money”.
