Shaquille O'Neal Denies Being In Photo With Instagram Influencer

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty / Shaquille O’Neal

It wasn’t me. That’s what NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is saying after a photo allegedly featuring himself and a popular Instagram influencer went viral. Spotted on TMZ Sports, social media sleuths instantly went to work. They deduced that it was the NBA champion and Hall-of-Famer in an Instagram post with Instagram influencer Maria Ozuna Teachey.

In the photo Teachey shared with her 200 K+ followers, she is standing in front of a mirror with someone of the same unmistakable stature as the retired pro hooper turned NBA analyst, his arms wrapped around her. At first glance, it’s understandable why everyone thought it was O’Neal in the photo. The faceless person has the same arms, height, and terrible-looking feet. Shaq caught wind of what was going on and said aht aht aht responding in the comment section of Worldstar’s IG page, “not the kid.” In another post, Shaq shared photos of himself in a similar pose with other women with the caption, “Is this my girlfriend too, trust me I’ll let yall know who my woman is, and by the way my woman name is Shaqirah.” Teachey also removed the photo and posted a video on her pG account, telling people not to “believe everything you see.” Despite all the people involved denying being in each other’s presence in the photo, users on X are still skeptical and sharing their hilarious thoughts on the situation. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.