“I Did Show It at My Theater”: Shaquille O’Neal, Who Tore Into Kyrie Irving Over Amazon Film, Speaks Out on His Critics

Published 12/17/2022, 12:30 PM EST

Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets have had an unpredictable season, both off-court as well as on-court. Irving invited plenty of controversy when he decided to post the link to the controversial film, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, which has been labeled anti-Semitic, on his social media account. Countless stars have come forth criticizing Irving, including the Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal. However, Shaq was recently criticized for his own ‘hypocritical’ behavior, as he screened the film at his own theater. The legend decided to clap back on critics, with an explanation of his own.

Shaq was recently interviewed and asked about the controversy. The legendary Lakers giant defended his stance on people calling him a “hypocrite”.

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Shaquille O’Neal on the Kyrie Irving controversy

NBA players hold a lot of responsibility in today’s day and age. The superstars have millions of followers and each of their words is highly scrutinized. Kyrie Irving and his recent controversy was a perfect example of the situation.

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Shaquille O’Neal was among one of the many who denied giving the Brooklyn Nets superstar any slack for his recent behavior. The legend was adamant and called Irving an “idiot” for his actions.

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In a recent interview with Esquire, Shaq was asked about the controversy and his subsequent reaction to it. “A lot of people said, ‘Oh, Shaq, you showed the documentary at your theater.’ Yeah, I did show it at my theater,” said Shaq. He further added, “because I allow the producers and movie guys to show at that theater. But I’m not going to grab the phone. As a businessman, I’mma let a guy show a film. But I knew once he did that, that one little phrase… I saw the CEO of Amazon said he’s not taking it down.”

The legendary Laker went on to explain how the CEO of Amazon denied any requests for removing the film. Jeff Bezos was of the belief that he wasn’t going to interfere in people’s belief systems.

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With a rocky start, the Nets have finally gained rhythm in the season. They sit at the fourth position in their conference and they seem to be in good form. The New York side is on a five-game winning streak and has been looking strong in the last few games. The Brooklyn Nets’ record stands at 18-12 for the season.

Watch This Story: Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Curry, Naomi Osaka and others possibly in legal trouble due to $11 Billion scandal

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Written by:

Shankha Shuvra Das is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Economics and has extensive experience in freelance content creation, especially in the field of technology. Shankha's passion for covering the sport of basketball stems from his love for the NBA, which he has been following closely for several years now.

Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra

“I Did Show It at My Theater”: Shaquille O’Neal, Who Tore Into Kyrie Irving Over Amazon Film, Speaks Out on His Critics

Shaquille O’Neal on the Kyrie Irving controversy

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