Shaquille O’Neal is a lot of things. The most dominant center in NBA history, DJ, hilarious host, excellent businessman, and avid philanthropist are all boxes that he checks. However, two boxes that many thought he would never check were the Flat-Earther and the Liar box. Thankfully, he eventually backtracked on one of them, at least. As they say though, reality is indeed stranger than fiction. After his ‘theories’ about the earth being flat, it turns out Shaq might have exaggerated one of his charitable tendencies.

And to expose the truth, we have Shaq’s co-host and longtime bud, Charles Barkley. But what exactly did Shaq lie about?

Charles Barkley sets the record straight on Shaquille O’Neal

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel, Charles was prodded by the host to divulge some details about Shaq. Jimmy asked him to confirm Shaq’s story from an earlier episode. In the episode, Shaq claimed that every time he went out to a restaurant, he tipped the waiter whatever amount they would ask for.

Chuck, however, wasn’t buying it. Emphatically responding with a “Hello No,” the Chuckster was on top form. As funny as they come, Barkley continued stated, “He doesn’t tip like that”. 

Charles then broke into a story. Recounting the time that the Inside The NBA crew was going to film a tribute to John Glenn, Barkley was at his funniest best. “We were doing a tribute to…John Glenn when he passed away. Shaq says, ‘I want it closer to the moon or L.A.'” 

Everyone was rightfully perplexed and they asked him what he meant by it. As Charles recounted, Shaq said, “When you walk outside, you can see the moon but you can’t see LA,” implying that he wanted it closer to his home. As Chuck regretfully admitted, “This is the guy I work with,” the entire audience was collectively in tears. At least, Shaq was just trying to save some money in this instance. A few years back, the big man had some ideas about the Earth’s shape.

Shaq backtracks on his ‘theory’ about the Earth

In 2017, Shaq expressed that he agreed with Kyrie Irving, who had stated that the Earth is flat. Explaining his logic, Shaq used the example of a long flight. “I flew 20 hours today, not once did I go this way. I didn’t tip over or go upside down.”

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Earlier, on the Big Podcast, Shaq shared similar views. That time around, he said, “I’m just saying. I drive from Florida to California all the time, and it’s flat to me…Have you looked outside Atlanta lately and seen all these buildings? Do you mean to tell me that China is under us? China is under us? It’s not. The world is flat.” 

Thankfully, since then, Shaq has addressed his comments. As Shaq pointed out, he is known for his hilarity. And, on the podcast with a comedian, he was trying to make light of the situation and carry on a joke.

Whether true or not, we can at least see that Shaq is a man willing to learn from his mistakes. Maybe that is another lesson we can learn from him, just not ones about geography.

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