The Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal transitioned into the media world after his retirement from the NBA. Since then, Shaq has been a prominent critic of socio-political issues affecting the entertainment world. The 4x NBA Champion often talks about trending topics in the world of sports and pop culture. Recently, Shaq and his Emmy-winning co-host responded to the remarks of a veteran Hollywood singer that prompted a lot of backlash from different sections of the music industry.

On a recent episode of his podcast, the Big Diesel addressed the ongoing controversy around Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers list. The list featured several great artists spanning decades. While most artists would feel honored to be featured on that list, one 69-year-old singer took offense to where she was placed on the list and had some select things to say about artists placed above her.

Chaka Khan’s shocking comments prompt a strong response from Shaquille O’Neal

On his Big Podcast, Shaq addresses the burning issues in the world of sports and entertainment, along with his co-hosts Nischelle Turner & Spice Adams. During a recent segment of the show, the NBA legend brought up a rather contentious topic, “Did you hear what Chaka Khan said about all those singers?”

The Big Aristotle was referring to singer Chaka Khan’s insulting comments at the expense of artists like Mary J Blige and Adele, among others. The 69-year-old was ranked 29th on the list while Blige was in the 25th position. The hosts of the podcast revealed that they were shocked by Khan’s comments. Turner said, “She[Khan] said Mary J Blige was flat singing her version of sweet love. She went in. She’s apologizing now!”

“She went there, she went there,” Shaq exclaimed. Without directly making any comment, Shaq brought up rapper Melle Mel’s comments on Eminem, “[He] said Eminem’s only a top 5 rapper because he’s white.” Shaq implied that Khan’s comments were clearly prompted from a place of envy, rather than being any kind of constructive criticism.

However, Khan later apologized for her comments, saying, “It was not my intention to cause pain or upset anyone. To anyone that felt this way, I sincerely apologize.”

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It is not uncommon for artists to rank themselves higher on any list. Even someone as famous and accomplished as Shaq thinks very highly of his music career.

What do you think of Chaka Khan’s remarks? Let us know in the comments below.

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