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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

In the latest Shaq-nanigan news, the big man might have a holiday date. We saw the unrestrained romantic tension between Celebrity Family Feud opponents, Shaquille O’Neal and Sherri Shepherd when they competed. After blurring some lines between rivals on television, they took their flirty ways online. No sliding into DMs as far as we know, but there were some saucy exchanges in Instagram comments. Shepherd just had to address those on her show in case O’Neal wanted to take things up a notch.

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On her self-titled show, Sherry Shepherd brought back that moment on Family Feud’s ‘Face-off’ when she was directly up against the 7’1 giant. The 5’1″ funny woman took her chance – while Shaq’s mom and sons were right there – that even Steve Harvey had to intervene if the show was going to move on. O’Neal flirted back though, and Shepherd had an equally suggestive response.

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That set the context for Shepherd saying on her show, “Don’t start nothing you can’t finish, Shaq. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Shaq. And don’t nibble off more than you can chew. And I do mean nibble is what I mean.

And Shaq did try to go for a bigger bite. Shepherd revealed their funny flirtations didn’t end at Family Feud. “So the other day I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw one of Shaq’s posts,” she told her live studio audience. “Now it was funny. So I commented, ‘Ha!’ And Shaq wrote back something that sounded flirty to me. He said, ‘Hey Sherri.’ Now Shaq are you flirting with me. See, because you can see the way he typed it out. It says, ‘Hey Sherri.’ But what he really meant was, ‘Hey Sherri.'” Insert Sherri’s spicy Shaq imitation in that last ‘Hey Sherri.’

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After exposing Shaq, Sherri sent O’Neal a standing invitation. “Anyway Shaq, I’m going to leave it there, you know where to find me. It’s very easy.

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It’s all in joke, of course. These were two funny entertainers who’ve got a running joke for a long time.

Sherri’s co-host ruined Shaq’s fun

Over a decade ago, Shaquille O’Neal and Sherri Shepherd crossed paths on GMA. Hilariously, they couldn’t take a selfie because Big Diesel has two feet over the comedian. Someone else took the picture for them then. None of the awkwardness was there when they met on Family Feud.

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After Shepherd took a mile, Shaq put out a disclaimer,Once you go Shaq, you can never go back.” Doesn’t look like Sherri wants to go back.

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Once she gave Shaq the invite (realistically to her daytime talk show), the producer of Sherri, Jawn Murray, declared he’s “manifesting” a relationship between the two. One, so he can get closer to Shaq’s mom, Lucille O’Neal and they can double date. The other reason because O’Neal is rich.

Well, Murray just, “soured it all up.” Shepherd is no longer keen on escalating things. She and all of us though would love it if Shaquille O’Neal popped up on Sherri.

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Caroline John

3,513 Articles

Caroline John is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports, specializing in league comparables. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and Communication and brings eight years of experience to the sports desk. Caroline made a mark in NBA media by covering the life of Shaquille O’Neal, which led to an exclusive interview with Josh Halpern, CEO of Shaq’s Big Chicken franchise. Her coverage was also personally highlighted by Shaq, who shared her article about his DJ Diesel persona and rapper GAWNE on Instagram. Drawn to the philanthropic work of LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal, Caroline started following the NBA for its character both on and off the court, and has since become a respected voice covering many of the league’s biggest names. Her reporting stands out for accuracy, recognition from industry figures, and a strong connection with readers. Away from sports, Caroline is an avid reader, finding equal passion in books and storytelling.

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