Mom Lucille’s Phone Call Forced Shaquille O’Neal To Change His Behavior In Front 35.2 Million People

Imagine flexing your new iPhone and the first text from mom is the “We don’t do that here” Wakanda meme. Pretty much what happened with Shaq. But because it’s the mayor of ‘larger than life’ living, this was big. Remember shaking your head to Shaquille O’Neal’s silly lip sync videos? Not hard to notice he’s steering a boat in some of these. His busking antics and his luxurious lake retreats went viral on social media, but also came to the attention of Shaq’s closest influencer. And she didn’t like it.

Lucille O’Neal adores it when her son drops millions to give kids a truckload of gifts. She has a no comment policy on Shaq’s tendency to splurge on cars and luxuries. But there was a hard line she drew. While on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, the subject of Shaq’s Instagram couldn’t be avoided. With 35.2 million followers and counting, O’Neal keeps those likes coming with a mix of luxury and humor. That was his ingenious idea to keep his mom happy.

“I didn’t know my mom knew what Instagram was,” Shaq told Shepard. Lucille didn’t just know Instagram; she watched her son’s shenanigans. “So, when I first started, do whatever you wanted. I’m bragging. And I get the call, baby. I get the call like, ‘Baby, we we know how much money you make. Don’t throw it.'”

But O’Neal would also never disappoint his followers who come to his page for that Big Diesel brand of entertainment. “I love her. So then I was like, ‘Damn, how do I ‘cuz I knew where the social media thing was going. So that’s when I said, ‘Okay, 60% to make you laugh, 30% to inspire you, and then 10% to floss.’ ” FYI, by ‘Floss’ he means ‘sell’, i.e., posts related to his brand deals. Like the shameless IcyHot plug he did in a Godfather re-enactment with his son, Myles.

Similarly, he calls the occasional posts about his boat, “10% cap.” That’s for keeping his word to his mom.

Shaquille O’Neal and his mom came full circle

Growing up, Shaquille O’Neal saw his mother give up on things like a new dress to ensure there was enough food to go around four kids. O’Neal wanted to make it big to return her love tenfold. With a $500 million net worth, Shaq spares no expense for his mom.

When he made his first nine figures with the Lakers, he bought a car each for himself, his mom, and his dad. He paid for his mother to go back to college, so she’s now officially Dr. Lucille O’Neal. When Lucille wanted to do something nice for kids on Christmas, Shaq kick-started his annual tradition of Shaq-a-Claus.

Lucille doesn’t comment on her son’s larger-than-life tendencies. But we can see how he’s complying with her request not to flaunt his wealth while keeping her humor alive. He has whole skits on buying a new car every month on FaceTime or bickering with his entourage on his private jet. His guilty pleasure is silly lip-sync videos that have occasionally launched some underrated artists.

Like, Ro James’ debut track from 2015, “Permission,” went viral a decade later when O’Neal lip-synced to it while steering his boat. The boat got its fair share of attention, even if it’s a ‘10% cap.’

O’Neal’s unique Instagram content joins the list of things inspired by his mom – including Big Chicken, Shaq-a-Claus, The Event, and more. So once more, we have Mama Lucille to thank.