Shaquille O'Neal Apologizes to Drake After Sharing Photoshopped Image of Him in Bikini: 'Thought It Was Funny'

"Somebody Photoshopped it, and I actually saw it, and I took the picture," the former NBA star explained on 'The Big Podcast'

Shaquille O'Neal attends the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2024;Drake attends a game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors
Shaquille O'Neal; Drake. Photo:

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images

Shaquille O'Neal has some regrets.

On Friday, June 28, the basketball legend, 52, issued an apology to Drake during an episode of The Big Podcast for sharing an edited photo of himself on a boat with a girl in a bikini — whose face was replaced with the "Hotline Bling" rapper's — as the Metro Boomin diss track "BBL Drizzy" soundtracked the background.

"Let me apologize right quick. I sent out a picture the other day. The mistake I made was that I should've said, 'Who did this?' Because I want Drake to know...," O'Neal began, referring to the edited image, which he didn't create.

He continued: "Listen, Drake has a great sense of humor, so I thought it was funny that they did it. I don't want him to think — like, I saw 'Shaq's trolling.' No, I'm not trolling."

O'Neal then said he "didn't Photoshop" the image.

"Somebody Photoshopped it and I actually saw it and I took the picture," he said. "So, Drake, I apologize. I should have put 'Who was this?' on there, because I don't want you to think I did that. Somebody sent it to me, I thought it was funny, and hopefully you thought it was funny, too. But once it went viral, I definitely took it down. But, so, my bad, big Drake."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

Shaquille O'Neal podcast
Shaquille O'Neal.

Amid the altered image debacle and his ongoing rap beef with Kendrick Lamar, Drake, 37, collaborated with Camila Cabello on not one but two tracks — “Hot Uptown” and “Uuugly” — on her new album C,XOXO. The songs came together after the Fifth Harmony alum, 27, slid into Drake’s DMs.

Cabello recently spoke to the Sunday Times about Drizzy's public feud with the "Humble" rapper.

“It’s so frustrating to see people talk about someone you know in a way that is negative,” she told the outlet, not mentioning the hip-hop stars by name. “You’re like, ‘Dang, if only you guys could just have dinner or something.’”

Related Articles