Words have power, and Shaq learned this the hard way when his claim that the Earth is flat cost him a $20 million deal.
On September 4, during a podcast called “GOAT Time,” Shaq and his son Myles O’Neal were having a friendly exchange about sports when the conversation took a detour as Shaq revealed to his son that he lost $20 million over a joke about being a flat-earther.
Is The Earth Round?
“I said the Earth was flat one time and I lost a f–ing big deal on that. … Big deal like $20 million,” Shaq replied.
He’s said he received more than half a million hate emails from people who genuinely believed the Hall of Fame NBA star was serious about the conspiracy theory. The reaaction caught him off guard, leading to an unspecified partnership backing out of a $20 million deal.
Shaq, known for his playful personality, often stirs up mild controversy for fun.
Part of that mild fun was piggybacking off a controversial take made by Kyrie Irving, who claimed the Earth was flat in February 2017. At the time, the Mavericks player said, “The Earth is flat. It’s right in front of our faces. They lie to us,” according to ESPN.
Shaq chimed in a month later, in March 2017, during an episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, saying, “Yes, it is [flat]. Listen, there are three ways to manipulate the mind, what you read, what you see, and what you hear.“
Shaq repeated the so-called joke on the Jordan Harbinger’s “The Art of Charm” podcast, “No, the Earth is flat. Would you like to hear my theory?”
He based the joke on an experience he had while driving from Florida to California, claiming the Earth seemed flat to him. He also expressed skepticism about satellite imagery and gravity.
Shaq repeated the same joke on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show, where he talked about his theories and even challenged the late-night host to a Jello wrestling match.
He would later be asked about his flat Earth theory on another show, The “Kyle & Jackie O Show,” in 2022, according to People magazine, where Shaq joked about the controversy once more — this time questioning whether the Earth spins.
“You know they say the world is spinning? I’ve been living in a house on a lake for 30 years, and not once did the lake rotate to the left or right,” he told the hosts.
It it was indeed a joke, Shaq seemed to make sure it went viral.
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