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Hollywood Actor Drags Shaquille O’Neal Through the Dirt for “Idiot” Kyrie Irving Comment: “I Called a Number of Jewish Friends”

Published 12/06/2022, 12:10 PM EST

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NBA legends and popular media analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are under scrutiny currently for their remarks. A few weeks ago, they addressed the Kyrie Irving antisemitism controversy and called Irving an ‘idiot’ for his actions. Irving had posted a link to a controversial film that apparently had anti-semitic undertones.

This urged people across the world to react which included popular media personalities like Shaq and Barkley. In fact, the duo criticized the Nets star severely during a segment on ‘NBA on TNT.’

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Recently, Hollywood actor Michael Jai White addressed the whole Kyrie Irving issue during an interview. Like many others, he didn’t like Barkley and O’Neal humiliating Irving in that way.

Hollywood actor bashes Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley for their views

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are not the types to shy away from expressing their opinions. More often than not, people from different sections of society don’t agree with the two.

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A few weeks earlier, the two bashed Kyrie Irving for his social media antics while calling him an ‘idiot’. Irving had posted the link to a highly controversial movie on his Twitter.

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Hollywood actor Michael Jai White didn’t seem to agree with Shaq and Chuck in this regard. He said during a recent appearance on DJ Vlad’s show, “I’m a big fan of who Shaq is. And so I was like, wait, I must be missing something because they didn’t see the documentary. I’m like, what did this guy [Kyrie Irving] say?”

Moreover, he talked about how he called a number of Jewish friends in order to make sure he is not missing anything about the issue. White said, “I called a number of Jewish friends, I was gonna call you[DJ Vlad] too because I was going, what am I missing here?”

White feels Irving achieved some enlightenment or knowledge from the documentary that others have missed out on completely. Additionally, the veteran actor called out Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley’s unwarranted criticism. He struggled to make sense of the reason behind such a severe backlash against Irving.

Shaq cleared the air around his comment days after the incident

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On an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Los Angeles Lakers legend had a conversation over his ‘idiot’ comment. He said, “A lot of people took offense with what I said because a lot of times you listen, but you listen through emotions. When I said “idiot,” I meant you can’t do anything that’s going to blemish your name, you personally!”

During his Irving rant, Shaq asserted that people like Irving who have a huge fan following should be more responsible. He also talked about how the 30-year-old wasn’t responsible in this instance.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Despite Marrying Shaquille O’Neal’s Ex-Wife Shaunie, Houston Pastor Reveals Unexpected Bond With Lakers Legend

What are your thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal’s comments? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Written by:

Abhinava Ghosh

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Abhinava is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor's in Journalism and Mass Communication. Abhinava has been following NBA for the past 6 years and is a huge fan of the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry.
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Edited by:

Satagni Sikder